Sonic Pandemonium
by Mike Wolfskin
Summary: Black Eggman power is opon us?,Amy Rose is a 7 Year old?,Sonic is in a new world?,And A gril fox is hiting on tails!
1. Total Chaos

Sonic Pandemonium written by: Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a. Team Icon) Issue One- Total Chaos   
  
"Is it really going to end like this? I guess it doesn't matter as long as Maria's happy" Shadow thought "This is what she wanted, But still I didn't want it to end this way - Funny how I used to hate this planet and now..... and now it looks somehow different."  
  
"Dammit! If only I could find a way out of this one. Then I could at least made friends with that blue hedgehog." he said " Oh well. Rest easy heroes, for a new day brings a new adventure...... Only one thing to do now. Leave with a big bang."  
  
Slowly, Shadow begins to reach into his back quills and pulls out a cd Walkman and a pair of headphones. Pressing the "play" button, 'Evenscence' begins to blare from the player. Or so he thought. Suddenly some unfamiliar words begin to play . The black and red hedgehog screams in an unpleasant voice as the words ring into the headphones "IS THIS THE END? It's the wrong cd! Dammit! I can't even die in peace!!"  
  
In a rage he quickly reaches for his 'Evenscence' cd in his quills, but to his surprise, could not find his precious cd.   
  
As luck would have it, he finds a Chaos Emerald instead.  
  
"What?! What is this? A Chaos Emerald?" he sighs "Ah no. It is only the fake emerald. Merely the fake Chaos Emerald used for the fox's plane!  
  
What dreadful luck!"  
  
He continues to fall closer and closer to Earth like a meteor. "I can feel it now. It's beginning to burn. My Super form... wont last... much longer......   
  
BUT WAIT! WHAT IF!?!...."  
  
Suddenly memory comes back to Shadow from with one of his last encounters with Sonic.  
  
(Sonic appears from the base of the runway to the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow walks up behind him. For the moment, not knowing what to think of his adversary. Who had just appeared to be alive and well. Considering that Eggman fired him off into space.   
  
He says in surprise "You never cease to amaze me , blue hedgehog! I thought that capsule you were in blew up in space!"  
  
Emerald green eyes shine confidently at the black and red hedgehog as Sonic replies with a grin "What can I say? I die hard!" In Sonic's right hand glows the fake Chaos Emerald as he walks down the runway. The walk turns to a quick jog as Shadow runs alongside him.  
  
He turns to Shadow "You actually saved me, y'know."  
  
Shadow's eyes widen as he looks towards the blue hedgehog. Realizing what his spoken words implied. He replies "It was Chaos Emerald wasn't it? But there's no way you could use Chaos Control with an Emerald that's fake! So. There's more to you than just looking like me! What are you anyways?!"  
  
Sonic's confidence shines brighter in his green eyes as he answers "What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!")  
  
Shadow's decent starts to become faster. He enters the atmosphere as he thinks to himself "It's worth a try- If Sonic can do it, then so can I . But what is even the point in saving myself? I've fought for the wrong reason since I was woken out my cold sleep. I have saved the world and atoned for it already. So what is point in me living beyond that?! What is this strange feeling I have in my heart? What is this strange overwhelming power that I feel deep inside? For some reason, the will to live is strong. Stronger than any other!  
  
CHAOS CONTROL!!!!!"  
  
Meanwhile, back on the Space Colony ARK high above planet Mobius; Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Dr.Eggman and the entire crew await Sonic and Shadow's return.  
  
Suddenly the door to the observation deck opens. Revealing Sonic standing at the entrance as he clutches Shadow's Flame Bracelet.   
  
Rouge then speaks up "Where is Shadow?"  
  
Sonic lowers his head in a depressed manner as he tries to hold back his tears. As he starts to explain about Shadow's sacrifice, the only voice that could be heard were the words of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The over bloated egg started to go on about his grandfather and how he looked up to him as little kid. Which was all nice and dandy until Tails heard him say "but did he really mean to destroy us?" Tails quickly snapped up with a perky fake smile while holding back the tears and hatred. He then came up with a response and said "Well. I do know one thing. WE ALL DID IT TOGETHER!"  
  
As if to shut Eggman up, Tails could only think in his mind of all the things that Dr. R had done to him and his friends over the years that he'd known Sonic. Somehow in his heart he knew Eggman had something to do with the mysterious disappearance of his parents.  
  
Robotnik's response mad him even angrier "YOU'RE RIGHT!"   
  
Meanwhile, Rouge seemed to be hitting on Knuckles as she told him that she turned over a new leaf and wasn't going to go after rubies and diamonds anymore.  
  
"So. What's next for you, Rouge?" Knuckles asked "Off again to look for those jewels you love so much?"  
  
Rouge continued to talk to Knuckles as Amy frantically looks for Sonic, who seems to have disappeared somewhere.   
  
When she finally finds him, she asks him "What's the matter, Sonic?"  
  
Sonic replies "Ah nothing. C'mon lets go home. TO THE PLANET AS COOL AND BLUE AS ME!"  
  
As they both exit the room, Sonic looks back towards the view from the giant window. A deep heavy feeling in his chest starts to pull at him as he says "Sayonara, Shadow..... the Hedgehog."   
  
Several tears fall to the metallic floor of the space colony at the hedgehog's feet. Wiping them away, he continues to catch up with the others.  
  
Sonic walks back into the observation deck and hears the doors shut closed and lock all around him.  
  
"What the ?!" he exclaims in shock "What's goin' on here?!"  
  
Tails and Knuckles catch up to him. "I think Robotnik locked us in here" Knuckles said "There's no way out!"  
  
"I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST EGGMAN!!" shouted Tails.  
  
Amy comes marching up to one of the locked doors and pulls out her Piko Piko hammer. She walks past Sonic and Knuckles.  
  
"Step aside 'heroes' and I'll get us out of here!" she said raising her hammer.  
  
Knuckles and Tails try to stop her, pulling her back and shouting to make her stop. Amy hit the door and they all get shocked by the electrical force protecting it. A small hole in the ceiling opens up and a small circular pipe no bigger than the hole. On the bottom of it is a small square box. The pipe descends in to the room making strange electrical noises and stops halfway down. The box opens up and extends on both sides until it shapes a monitor.  
  
This remains blank for several minutes with static.   
  
The reception starts to clear up as Robotnik's mug appears on screen.   
  
"Man! They don't make monitors big enough for YOU, 'Buttnik!" Sonic laughs "What's wrong? Couldn't find one in size 20XL?!"  
  
"Mwa ha ha hahaa HA!" Robotnik exclaims "You won't be laughing for long, hedgehog! Once you see what I have in store for you!! HAHA!"  
  
Confidently, Sonic places his hands at his sides and said "Yeah right! Bring it on, Eggman!"  
  
Suddenly, two doors open electronically and the whole gang steps through one of these rooms to find all the Chaos Emeralds in some sort of machine.  
  
It seems to be syphoning off their energies and in the center is another machine that looks similar to a Roboticizer, but already has something inside of it.   
  
In the background, Robotnik is seen standing next the only remaining escape   
  
pod. He then turns pointing his butt towards Sonic in a taunting manner and begins singing " S.O.N.I.C GO S.O.N.I.C GO GO LET'S GO!"  
  
Angered by this insult, Sonic starts running towards Robotnik at full speed.  
  
Just as he reaches the fat egg, the floor begins to move in the opposite direction. He then runs faster in an attempt to get closer to Robotnik.  
  
Finally reaching the end of the moving conveyor belt, Sonic can almost make out a metallic hedgehog-like figure inside of the cylinder.   
  
Out of nowhere, several wires and cords latch on to him as an electrical current surges throughout his body. Movement restricted by these wires, he can only struggle to try and break free. The electrical sensation starts to intensify as he shouts out from the unexpected pain of the shock.   
  
Without warning, the wires holding Sonic slacken off and everything goes dark with noises of machines shutting down. He collapse to the ground still recovering from his recent electrocution.   
  
Before Amy can rush over to him he holds up a hand in warning, while holding to his now throbbing fore head.  
  
"BACK OFF!" he snaps suddenly "I've got a bad headache so lay off"  
  
As Knuckles helps Sonic to his feet, steam issue from the cylinder centered in the room.   
  
"What now?!" Sonic exclaims "What ever happened to the 'No Smoking' policy around here?!"  
  
Everyone starts waving their hands to clear away the steam.   
  
It clears minutes later minutes later to reveal a blue metallic robot with sharp curved spikes for "quills",bright neon red eyes and razor like fingers.  
  
" HA! Fell for my trap, Sonic! And now you'll die here just like your friend out there!" Robotnik begins to laugh.  
  
Sonic's eyes darken and narrow towards the mad scientist and shouts in rage "LEAVE SHADOW OUT OF THIS, ROBUTTNIK!"  
  
Everyone else backs away from him cautiously. Breathing heavily form his sudden outburst, Sonic calms himself down still clenching his fists as they turn white.  
  
"Ahem. Now where was I?" Robotnik said " Oh yes! If you want to get off the Space Colony alive, you'll have to defeat my NEWEST invention. MWAHAHAHAH!"   
  
After the escape pod launches out of ARK, the cylinder starts to break down and the figure inside it comes into everyone's view.   
  
Amy beings to tug on Sonic's arm and whining, which starts to get on his nerves.  
  
"Cut it out, Amy!"Sonic said tiredly "What do ya want now?!"  
  
"So–nic! Look!" she said in a high voice "That robot looks just like you!"   
  
The sound of Mecha Sonic's metallic footsteps were heard throughout the room as it approached the group. It stopped directly in front of Sonic.  
  
"Huh?! What. You mean 'this'?!" he said pointing towards the evil looking hedgehog robot with his thumb "This thing certainly looks ominous enough, but it's nowhere close to the real thing!"  
  
Motioning for the others to back away from him, Sonic starts to spin-dash at Mecha. The robot jets out of the way and slams him against a wall.  
  
"Not bad, Mecha Sonic!" Sonic said from under its cold, metallic hands "But not good ENOUGH!"  
  
Pushing off his attacker, he does a back flip kick into its back. Creating a large dent in the where his feet hit it.  
  
In retaliation, Mecha Sonic grabs Sonic by the shoulder and tries to body slam him into another wall. Sonic breaks free at the last minute, but ends up crashing into one of the control consoles. Frayed wires snapped with raw electricity threatening to zap the blue hedgehog.  
  
He jumps back onto his feet and revs up in a figure eight, running at the robot. Landing a solid hit on its left shoulder as it turns grey and hangs limp at its side.  
  
With the good arm, it hits him in the stomach and follows with a double fisted punch to the back.   
  
Tiring of being used as Mecha's "punching bag" , Sonic spin-dashes it in to the control panel on the other side of the room.  
  
Out of breath, he then falls to his knees in an exhausted heap. Watching the 'bot get fried with several hundred volts of raw electricity.  
  
"That.... Should take care of that robot look-a-like!" Sonic said out of breath "Who's laughing now, Eggbutt?!"  
  
From out of the explosion, the sharp robotic figure of Mecha Sonic is clearly seen as it begins to step forward.   
  
Sonic stands up, but his injuries force him back down as he holds his hand to his side.  
  
"AH! I'm hurt too badly to even stand up and that walking excuse for a can opener is still function" he gasps "I at least have to continue. Until I destroy it!"  
  
Knuckles supported Sonic as he collapsed the rest of the way to the ground.  
  
"Don't move. It'll make the injuries worse than they already are, Sonic!" he warned him.  
  
Wearily shifting his gaze to the red echidna, Sonic cries out from the pain caused from the injuries.  
  
"The Chaos Emeralds! Ah!" he exclaims "They're still in this room! I can beat that thing if I can turn Super Sonic again!"  
  
Knuckles looks over to the Chaos Emeralds and then towards his friend, who appears to be badly hurt and worn out.  
  
"How are you going to get over there?!" he says still supporting the blue hedgehog "You're hurt! You shouldn't even be moving!"  
  
"I'm thinking of getting a second opinion!" Sonic replies "Just have someone bring them over and I'll take care of the rest!"  
  
Knuckles starts looking around and spots Rouge hanging upside down and appeared to be taking a nap.  
  
"Don't just hang there, bat-girl!" he shouts at the bat "Get the Chaos Emeralds!"  
  
A bit indignant, Rouge glides down and begins the gather the seven emeralds from the pedestal.  
  
"Hold on just a bit longer, Sonic" Knuckles said "It'll take awhile to get the Chaos Emeralds"  
  
Blinking tiredly, Sonic stares at him with an annoyed look. He then adjusts himself into a sitting position.  
  
"Relax, Knux. I'm not dying" he said "I'm just tired. "  
  
Then Rouge brings the Chaos Emeralds to him.  
  
"Cool. Now just stand back, Rad Red!" Sonic said "With my Super Form, I'll be fully healed and my energy will restored with enough to spare after trashing 'tall, dark, and metallic'!"  
  
Concentrating his energy on to the brightly glowing gems, Sonic was soon surrounded by a gold aura of energy that traveled from his shoes to his knees and up the waist. It continued until he was completely surrounded by it.  
  
A blinding flash of light burst from the center and then dissipated.  
  
In Sonic's place, stood a bright golden-yellow hedgehog with blood red eyes and spiked lower head quills.  
  
The two combatants begin the fight again as several hits are blocked on either side and a single solid hit from Sonic punctures strait through the robot. Causing the same "Chaos" energy to spill out from the newly created hole.   
  
At this same time, the fake Chaos Emerald Shadow used for Chaos Control breaks and shatters into a million tiny pieces. Releasing its energy towards the source of the energies released inside the Space Colony.  
  
Combining with them and warping the fabrics of time and space as a single point of light starts to expand and brighten. This covers a wide area including the ARK and its surrounding area.  
  
In one brilliant flash, everything turns white......... 


	2. In Every Universe, There Must Exist a Li...

Sonic Pandemonium written by:  
  
Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a Team Icon)  
  
Issue Two - In Every Universe, There Must Exist a Little Chaos  
  
Sonic sorely gets up and rubs his back which is throbbing just slightly above his waist.   
  
"Ah! What on Mobius hit me?!" he moans faintly "And where am I?"  
  
His ears twitched in the direction of an oncoming vehicle and jumps out of the way. Barely avoiding it and getting away from another the next second.  
  
After nearly getting run over by cars, he catches his breath and stares at the his new surroundings.  
  
"What is this? Halloween?!" one of the motorists shouts from his window.  
  
"Just great! I'm being stared at like some kind of circus attraction!" Sonic thought "I'm not some wild animal! Huh?!"  
  
His eyes closed halfway in annoyance when a couple of officers tried to coax him over.  
  
"Why do these morons keep insisting in treating me like a wild animal?" he said "NEWS FLASH PEOPLE!!! I'm NOT a wild animal!"  
  
"Did you hear that? It talked!" someone said from a mini-van.  
  
By this time, Sonic was getting more than annoyed with the "wild animal" treatment and was about to say something when a rope net came over him.  
  
"Not again!" he said with a sigh "Oh well. Time to go!"  
  
Running with the net still on him, he took off with half a dozen police officers holding on to it.  
  
"This is unit 0094! We have a blue hedgehog heading south on the I -20!"  
  
The radio broadcast inside the squad car several miles away.  
  
"He won't get away! This is the only road heading out." one of the officers in the car said " we'll catch that hedgehog!"  
  
Out of nowhere, about six or so officers holding net got piled into the into car as Sonic sped away into the stretching highway.  
  
Minutes later, he found himself being chased by several helicopters.  
  
The lead one tried to fire a net over him, but it was dodged as he sped up and ran past his pursuers.  
  
"This hedgehog is just too fast to keep up with. Let alone catch!" one of the pilots exclaimed.  
  
A large, three-ton semi started to make its way after Sonic and opened up a hidden hatch way as four race cars zoomed out after him.  
  
"Well! Looks like I'm finally gonna have some fun around here!" he thought to himself.  
  
Two caught up alongside him as the other two brought up the rear. With a confident smile, he laughed to himself.   
  
"Yeah. Like that's actually goin' to stop me?!" he said with the same confidence "Ha! No brainers!"  
  
All the cars formed two lines as a fifth race car zoomed down the middle and past Sonic.  
  
"Looks like this one's goin' to be more fun than these slow-mo's!" he said "Come on! I'm waiting!"  
  
His smile broadened as the car caught up to him "Looks like it's the rush hour!"  
  
At full speed it easily kept up with the blue hedgehog and was still at his left.  
  
He knocked on the window and zipped up to the hood.  
  
"Ah! What a nice ride. Hope you don't mind if I hitch hike." Sonic said "It sure beats public transportation!"  
  
The car came to a sudden stop as he leapt off and did a double mid air somersault, landing on his hand and back to a standing position.  
  
Meanwhile, up on a hill near the highway this is seen by a passerby.   
  
"NO WAY! It can't be! He's dead. I must be seeing things" Crystal said as she observed the scene taking place on the highway.  
  
Sonic continues to be chased by the race car, followed by several helicopters.  
  
Just for fun, he runs backwards with his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"This getting boring!"he said "I'm outta here!"  
  
In a streak of blue, he ran past the car and broke the sound barrier in the process.  
  
"No doubt about it" Crystal thought "It's definitely him!"  
  
A flash of blue streaked past Crystal's field of vision as Sonic stopped by the near by tree and almost collapsed.  
  
Crystal caught him in mid fall and rested him in a sitting up position.  
  
"Easy, Sonic. You're hurt." she said.  
  
"Huh? How do you.... know my name?" Sonic asked faintly. From her back pack she took out a first aid kit and begun to take care of Sonic's injuries.  
  
"It doesn't matter" Crystal said quietly "Just get some rest. While I contact my friend on the I.R."  
  
Pressing several buttons on what Sonic thought looked like a wrist watch, it emitted a low pitched beep a few times before a voice came on the small speaker.  
  
"Mike, you there?"Crystal said into the receiver "You won't believe this, but guess who I found while on my walk!"  
  
Looking over her shoulder, Crystal notices Sonic pass out unconscious.  
  
"Must've been injured worse than I thought,"she thought "he's out like a light!"  
  
Carefully placing her arms behind Sonic's back and under his legs she picks him up.  
  
"For now the safest place to take you will be my place" Crystal said quietly "At least until I can figure out what's going on anyways"  
  
Slowly and tiredly, Sonic opened his eyes a little to see that someone was carrying him.  
  
"Why is this Overlander helping me?" he thought.  
  
His eyes closed again as he rested against her.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
The door opens to a small house as Crystal carries Sonic inside.  
  
His breathing starts to shallow a little and then return to normal, possibly caused by a rib cage injury that somehow effected the respiratory system. "Hold on,"she whispers into the hedgehog's ear "We're almost there"  
  
Opening another door, she then makes her way into another room that is entirely blue with stuffed animals at the foot and head of the bed and a small television hooked up to a game system.  
  
Crystal sets Sonic gently onto the bed and goes into the next room.  
  
At that time, her I.R. goes off rather loudly as she responds to the call.  
  
"Keep it down, Mike!" she said "He's resting!"  
  
A bit puzzled by Crystal's rather hushed and scolding reply, Mike responds " 'He' who?"  
  
"Look it's kind of hard to explain, Mike" Crystal said "Just come over to my house and I'll explain everything when you arrive!"  
  
Walking back into her room, she looks over Sonic's still form. His quills are somewhat tattered and so are the gloves and socks.  
  
Several bruises mark his entire body and red blotches show through the bandages around the waist and torso.  
  
"Bandaged for no more than fifteen minutes and they need changing already" Crystal sighs "I'll be right back with some fresh bandages."  
  
Halfway down the hall to the bathroom, she hears a knock on the door.  
  
"I'm coming" she said "Be patient!"  
  
The knock becomes somewhat louder, realizing who it is Crystal just tells Mike to come in over the I.R.  
  
"Hey, Crystal," Mike said "I heard you were taking care of someone"  
  
"I'll get back to you after I get his bandages changed" she said "Just wait in the living room."  
  
Mike looked around the room for awhile, it hasn't changed the since last time he was there. The same curtains hung at the windows and the same throw pillows decorated the couch he sat on.  
  
Crystal then came back from her room and sat down beside him.  
  
"You might want to help yourself to a Dr. Pepper in the refrigerator, Mike," she said.  
  
She didn't drink the soda, but it was kept in the freezer for whenever her friend came to visit.  
  
"I'll start with how it all happened"Crystal said " I saw the S-Team chasing him down the highway again"  
  
"Again?!"Mike said surprised "You must have been seeing a ghost, Crystal.  
  
He died three months ago"  
  
She motioned him to follow her to her room. Making sure not make any unnecessary noise.   
  
"He's in here on my bed" Crystal whispered "He's unconscious from the injuries, so we have to be quiet."  
  
The door opened with a slight creak as it revealed Sonic on the bed unconscious and almost lifeless.  
  
"Are you alright, Crystal?" Mike asked "There's blood on your shirt!"  
  
Glancing down at the loose sleeve shirt, Crystal noticed slight patch of red by her chest.  
  
"Oh this?" she said "It isn't mine it's Sonic's"  
  
Before Mike could try to convince his friend that Sonic wasn't around anymore, she pulled him further in to the room. "The police might still be after him in Station Square after that stunt he pulled" Crystal said seriously "Sonic needs to have the injuries taken care of, but I can't just take him to the hospital."  
  
He thought for a minute as he crossed his arms over his chest. Considering what Crystal just said.  
  
"Keep an eye on Sonic while I get the Advance" Mike said "I know one place where we can take him!"  
  
"Knothole Village! Of course!" she said "That's a great idea, Mike!"  
  
In a haste, Mike runs out of the house. Forgetting to close the door.  
  
"And the door is left opened again" Crystal sighs as she closes it and walks back in to the bedroom.  
  
Again, Sonic's breathing starts getting shallow. This time for a longer interval before returning to normal.  
  
"Hang in there, old friend" Crystal whispered " You'll be alright"  
  
She then ran her hand through his head quills, gently stroking them as she watched his uneven breathing.  
  
Meanwhile, Tails finds himself stuck in a tree as he wakes up.  
  
Looking down he realizes that it he is at least twenty feet up off the ground.  
  
"How did I get up here?!" he said surprised.  
  
At that same time, Lily comes walking down the dirt road. Arriving at a fork in the road.  
  
"Hmm. Which way?" she said to herself thoughtfully " I know!"  
  
She then took out a talisman and set it on the ground, but gets distracted by some passers by talking about the next city.  
  
"I heard that cute men literally fall from the sky" a violet female hedgehog told her friend.  
  
"Oh that would so nice if a nice guy did fall from the sky" Lily thought " That would sooo cool!"  
  
Without warning, the tree branch Tails is hanging on snaps and drops him.  
  
"Ahhhhh! Look out below!" Tails shouts as he falls " ahhhh!"  
  
Lily looks up to see him falling from his tree "So! The rumors are true!"  
  
As they collide, the two roll in a multi colored heap. Hitting another tree.  
  
A bit disoriented, Tails sees the blue figure in front of him.  
  
"Is that Sonic?" he thought.  
  
His vision clears and sees a blue fox with orange bangs in her face and a red bandanna slightly over her eyes.  
  
"Huh?! You're not Sonic!" Tails said in surprise.  
  
"Oh! This is very nice!" Lily said in a flirty tone "and so are you handsome!"  
  
He immediately leaps away from Lily. Noticing 'where' he was.  
  
Lily dusts off her jeans which look a bit dirty and worn. Then walks over to him.  
  
"Uh... what are you doing?" he asks nervously.  
  
She gets several inches closer to Tails, who nervously backs away.  
  
"Oh. C'mon!" Lily said pleadingly "You're exactly my type, 'tall, dark and foxy!"  
  
He then notices that Lily's staff has several yellow pieces of some kind of jewel hanging off it like ornaments.  
  
"Where did you find those jewels?" Tails asked curiously.  
  
"I've been collecting them all day today" Lily replies "When I get enough, I'm going to make a beautiful necklace to attract a boyfriend"  
  
She happily hugs Tails exclaiming " And it's working already!"  
  
"Now I know how Sonic feels when Amy latches onto him!" he thought "No, this girl is worse than Amy"  
  
"Uh, look. I'd like to like to stay around and get to know you- -"  
  
Before Tails could finish Lily excitedly interrupts him"Oh, you would?  
  
That's great!"  
  
He continues "but I have to find out where my friends are."  
  
"I'm sure they can wait" she said " Lets get to know each other better and WE can be friends."  
  
Tails was about to leave, when a mantis-like monster appears out nowhere.  
  
Seeing the jewels on Lily's staff, it tries to take it from her.  
  
"Why is this monster after your staff?!"he asks above the mantis monster's loud roar.  
  
"I don't know!" Lily replied " Monsters are always after it"  
  
Before they could talk about further, the monster swiped its giant claw in between them.  
  
A giant claw shaped fissure separated the two as it began to attack them again.   
  
The next attack was barely dodged as Tails and Lily avoided a mid-air swipe. After several minutes, Lily was in the direct path the monster's claw.  
  
Tails leaped in front of her to take the hit instead. When out of nowhere something black came into view.  
  
"What are doing here, Lily?" the black echidna asked "Chasing after guys again?"  
  
Lily turned red and yelled "That's none of your business, Nike!"   
  
As Tails got up and dusted himself off, he saw a black echidna with yellow streaked dread locks and yellow spiked bangs over the eyes.  
  
"You should've just stayed with me in the first place" Nike shouted at Lily.  
  
He held a long, broad sword that was almost twice his size as it clashed against the claw of the monster.  
  
"You know!"Lily started "If you didn't me I'd go on my own"  
  
With a half annoyed look, Nike glares at the blue fox.  
  
"Whatever!" he said indifferently "You can't even stay out of trouble with out me"  
  
Turning his attention back his opponent, Nike slices the creature's arm directly through middle as it falls to the ground.  
  
Afterwards, he then inspects his shoes which seem to read "Nike" on the outer side of each.  
  
"Good. They aren't damaged" he thought "Why do I even risk my life for this girl?"  
  
Sighing tiredly, Nike slings his large sword over his back as if it were no heavier than a bamboo pole.  
  
"I TOLD you to stay close to me" he fumes "but you just happened to wander off to look for a boyfriend again!"  
  
Despite the hurt look Lily gave Nike, he didn't say another word.  
  
Crossing his arms over his chest, he mumbled something about an air-headed girl and having to save her one more time would too soon for him.  
  
Just barely watching Lily, he glances over to her with false interest.  
  
"What is she going on about now?" Nike sighs "It had better be important!"  
  
On the ground next to the arm of the monster glinted a bright yellow jewel.  
  
"Just leave it where it is" he said "Those have caused us enough trouble already!"  
  
"But what about my necklace?" Lily whined "I don't have enough for it yet"  
  
"You can BUY one at the mall, Lily!" Nike said "Now come on!"  
  
Tails runs up to the brightly shining shard and takes a close look at it. "No way!" he exclaims " I was wondering what happened"  
  
Nike places his left hand at his side while scratching his forehead in confusion with the right.  
  
"What exactly is going on" he said still confused "You mind cluing me in on this, kid?"  
  
Tails picks up the shard and faces him.  
  
"This is a piece of a powerful jewel called a Chaos Emerald" he explained "There's seven of them and each one contains a large almost limitless amount of energy."  
  
"Chaos Emerald?" Nike thought "I know I heard of it somewhere, but I'm not sure."  
  
For a moment, Nike was lost in thought as he tried to figure out where he heard about the mysterious Chaos Emeralds before.  
  
"Need some help looking for the rest of the pieces?" he said suddenly " I think I might be able lend a hand"  
  
"Really?!" Tails perked up "That'd be great!"  
  
"By the way, my name's Nike and I'm sure you've met Lily already" Nike said "Don't mind her, she's just 'guy crazy'."  
  
"Hey!" Lily yelled "I wouldn't have to be if you weren't so caught up on yourself!"  
  
"You're like that when we first met!" he retorted "humph! Stupid girl!"  
  
"You know you like me, Nike." she comes back "You're just too shy to admit it!"  
  
"Say one more word and I'll leave you here to fend yourself off against the next monster" Nike said "Just be quiet, Lily."  
  
Lily knew that Nike wasn't the type to just leave her out in the middle of nowhere and he needed her for his quest.  
  
"Who needs that self absorbed echidna anyways?" she thought "When I have someone better!"  
  
She then leaps into Tails' arms and exclaimed "My hero!"  
  
"Uh, Lily" Tails said "Is that kind of a late reaction?"   
  
Nike's group then starts their journey to look for the remaining Chaos Emerald shards.  
  
Meanwhile in the nearby ocean, we find a very familiar echidna. He laid there beaten and battered with scars from head to toe from the last battle with Mecha Sonic. The cause of the Chaos Control led the Space Colony ARK towards the ocean. It floated halfway submerged in the water.  
  
Knuckles laid by the nose cone of the colony's Eclipse Cannon as light hit him from the sun.  
  
Several colorful birds flew above as a few decided to curiously check out the wreckage. One lit on his head and pecked him.  
  
"Go away, Sonic" he mumbled.  
  
It pecked him a couple more times. Annoyed by this, Knuckles waved his hands in the air shouting "I SAID GO AWAY ALREADY!"  
  
This scared away the small birds that were checking out the ARK.  
  
One of the birds flew back and looked directly at him. He had bright red feathers that shone like rubies with bright black markings near the corner of his eyes. The chest feathers were slightly lighter than the rest of him.  
  
"Whoa!" he said " You gotta calm down, pal!"  
  
Knuckles stepped back several paces, surprised by the talking bird.  
  
"You.... can talk?!" he said " I've never heard of a bird that can talk before!"  
  
"Of course I can talk!" said the bird "I'm a Flicky!"   
  
Crossing his arms over his chest, Knuckles looked towards the small island off to the right.  
  
"By the way" he said "Can you tell me where I am?"  
  
The Flicky flew in the direction of the island and stopped to face him again.  
  
"This is Flicky Island. Many of my kind live here" he said "It's pretty much out of the way and we don't get many visitors."  
  
He looked back to see that there was a city several miles away.   
  
"I can image that" Knuckles said "What about Overlanders?"  
  
"Only one. He came looking for the sacred jewel on the island" the Flicky explained.  
  
"He wouldn't happen to be Robotnik would he?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah that's him!" the Flicky said "He came here in something here called 'Metal Robotnik'."  
  
"That Eggman!" Knuckles thought "He just doesn't know when to quit!"  
  
"It was some time ago and it was destroyed by Sonic" he said "It's been quiet here since."  
  
Knuckles placed his hands at his side laughing quietly to himself.  
  
"Hey! What's that?!" he said pointing to a large airship.  
  
Meanwhile aboard the Advance, Mike and Crystal spotted the crashed ARK sitting in the water. "What's the ARK doing next to Flicky Island?" Mike said "It's supposed to be orbiting Mobius"  
  
"It still is, Mike!" Crystal replied "See? It's right there!"  
  
Crystal pointed to the round satellite like object that drifted in space like Mobuis' twin moons.  
  
"Something's going down" Mike said "Let's go check it out"  
  
"What about Sonic?!" Crystal exclaimed " We lost him once already. I don't want to lose him again!"  
  
"Don't you think that it's strange that there's two Space Colonies, Crystal?"  
  
he said " Take care of Sonic while I land the Advance and check this out."  
  
Crystal unhooked the seatbelt and walked to the back of the plane as Mike prepared to land.  
  
The engines stopped as the Advance landed on the ARK.  
  
"Looks like we have some uninvited guests" Knuckles said "Time to roll out the 'Unwelcome' mat!"  
  
Knuckles got in to a fighting stance and looked in the direction of the plane behind him.  
  
"What do YOU want, Overlander?!" he said with a growl "If you don't want a 'Knuckles Sandwich', you'll leave now!"  
  
Mike steps off the Advance and puts his hands up in show of peace.  
  
"We're just here to check what happened here" he said "We don't mean any harm"  
  
Being tricked by Robotnik several times, Knuckles decides not to believe him.  
  
"You Overlanders are all the same" he said "Always showing up unannounced and looking for trouble!"  
  
He then flips back a dread lock as he cracks his knuckles at Mike.  
  
"I'm going to give you fifteen seconds to leave here" he said "If you're still within eyesight by then....."  
  
Not wanting to be part of the fight, Turbo flies off to go exploring.  
  
"Man! That echidna needs to lighten up!" he said " I'm outta here!"  
  
Without warning, the trees starts to shake violently with a loud laughing sound. Following the source of this noise, he finds the old ruins of Metal Robotnik glowing with a bright yellow light surrounding it.  
  
The robot started to rise with dirt scattering in all directions.  
  
"This is definitely BAD news!" Turbo said "I gotta go tell him about this." Back on the sunken Space Colony, Knuckles jumped out the way Mike's sword and landed neatly on the side of the blade.  
  
"C'mon!" he said still standing on it "Is that the best you can do?"  
  
"Grrr! You dare to insult the System Outcast blade?!" Mike yelled "That's it!"  
  
Again, Mike attempted to hit Knuckles with his sword. It was dodged as the red echidna glided into the air and landed opposite off him.  
  
They both turned around to face each other and continued fighting.  
  
Knuckles dodged another attempt another swing of the sword and knocked it out his hand as it was flipped into the air for several minutes before landing blade first in the side of ARK.  
  
Ignoring the sword, Mike stares silently at Knuckles as he stares back for several minutes.  
  
"You're going DOWN, Overlander!" growled Knuckles.  
  
"Yeah right" Mike said "You're the one who's going down!"  
  
In blinding speed they lunge at each other and start to block and dodge several hits and punches.  
  
Knuckles lands an spiral upper and is countered with a several hits to the face.  
  
"Not bad, Overlander," he said confidently "but it lacks style"  
  
"Argh! I show you style, echidnerd!"Mike exclaims "Eat dirt!"  
  
Mike land a punch on Knuckles that sends him flying several yards, but the echidna glides on the air current and lands inches away from where he was thrown.  
  
Turbo arrives to break up the two fighters and warn them about new danger.  
  
"Get ready, echidna" Mike proclaims "No one makes fun of the S.O. blade and gets away with it!"  
  
"YOU get ready, Overlander!" Knuckles yelled "No one insults Knuckles the Echidna and lives to tell of it!"  
  
Just then, a giant tremor shakes the ground knocking them both off their feet.  
  
"What's going?!" he exclaims above the loud thunderous noise.  
  
At that moment, Turbo flies to where the two were previously fighting.  
  
"Guys! Now isn't particularly such a great time to be fighting each other!" he said "We've got a BIG problem on our hands!"  
  
"What kind of problem?!" both Mike and Knuckles said in unison. Out of nowhere, a giant robot in the image of Robotnik starts to level the nearby hills and knock down almost every tree in its path.  
  
"Like I said - A BIIIIIIIIG problem" Turbo replied "And we'd better think of something and fast!"  
  
In full view, the robot stood five stories high and was a dull silver-gray with a black triangle painted over each shoulder. Most of its parts appeared to have had some damage and recently been repaired.  
  
Its arms and legs were sharp and metallic. A little over half the size of the robot itself.  
  
In a mechanical voice similar to Robotnik's it began to speak " This island atoll is now under the rule of Black Eggman! Bow down before your future lord and master MWA HA HA HA HA HA!"  
  
The trio stares wide eyed in shock as they see Black Eggman emerged.  
  
Its round figure blocks out the sun and casts a giant shadow over the entire surrounding area. 


	3. The Rise of Dark Matter

Sonic Pandemonium   
  
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a. Team Icon)  
  
Issue three - The Rise of Dark Matter.  
  
"Mwa ha ha ha" Black Eggman laughed maniacally "MWA HA HA HA!  
  
Fools! A new power has arisen! Bow down to your new master! HAHA!"  
  
"Oh excuuse me 'master'!" Mike said "I'm not worthy! I mean come on! What's next? Aluminum Sonic?!"  
  
Black Eggman glares at Mike as he says "A mere child DARES to make fun of me?! The lord of the ....island?!"  
  
"If I'm not mistaken,"Knuckles said "but I think he just called us 'fools'"  
  
"Yeah!" Mike replied "Let's get him!"  
  
They both ran towards Black Eggman at full speed with their right hands held back. Ready to hit the robot, but it just batted them away like flies.  
  
A hole then opened up on its stomach, revealing a high powered laser.  
  
Mike flew out of the way carrying Knuckles with him. Landing really close to the water's edge as the ocean water splashed Knuckles in the face.  
  
" Isn't this a little close?!" said Knuckles.  
  
"Give me a break!" Mike replied " It's been at least three years since I did this kind of thing!"  
  
He looks at Mike then at Black Eggman.  
  
"At LEAST?!" Knuckles exclaims" You're telling me you're out of practice?!" "That's about the deal" he said nervously. "We're gonna die!!" Knuckles exclaimed. Black Eggman then starts to shoot off lasers and missiles from its hands and fingers.   
  
"Any ideas?" asked Knuckles.  
  
"Yeah" Mike said "I have an idea. RUN!!!"  
  
"What?! Run?!" he said " I never run from a fight!"  
  
Mike then grabs hold of Knuckles' hand and backs up to the Advance.  
  
"Believe me, Knuckles" he said "If we don't, Black Eggman is going to turn us into ashes!"  
  
"Good point" Knuckles said "Let's get out of here!"  
  
They both ran for the airship as they avoided the onslaught of Black Eggman's weapons.  
  
"Crystal!" Mike called above the noise of the projectiles "Crystal, start the engines and open the bottom hatchway!"  
  
"What?! Why, Mike?!" Crystal said confused "What's wrong?!"  
  
"Just do it!" he replied.  
  
The Advance lifted off the ground as a door opened underneath.   
  
Knuckles, Turbo and Mike ran in just barely avoiding another wave of lasers.  
  
"Hey, there" Crystal said to three "Going my way?"  
  
As the airship began to leave, Black Eggman lowered the left wing to reveal more weapons.  
  
"You won't get away from me that easily" he said " Take this!"  
  
Several high speed lasers fired from his wing. A few hit the back wing.  
  
A sudden jolt shook the Advance as Crystal managed to keep the bed Sonic was strapped to from falling over.  
  
"We're hit, Mike!" she called from the back "Do something!"  
  
Another missile hits the airship and damages the wing.  
  
"Brace for turbulence, everyone!" Mike called " We have wing damage!"   
  
A feminine computer voice starts to announce a warning as red lights begin to flash. This was the same warning, Knuckles had heard many times during his experience with Sonic and the others.  
  
Mike pulls up on the wheel just barely missing the ocean.  
  
"I can see the Great Continent!" Crystal said "Knothole isn't too far from here!"  
  
"There's the Great Forest straight ahead, Crystal!" he said "We're going to make it!"  
  
"And not too soon for Sonic" she thought "he's going to make it too"  
  
Just then, the damaged wing on the Advance breaks off into the ocean.  
  
"Uh, guys?" Knuckles said " I think we'll have make it an emergency landing!"  
  
"I know that already!" said Mike.  
  
It makes a shaky descent in to the Great Forest as it starts to land.  
  
"Hold on" he called "We're headed for a rough landing!"  
  
Meanwhile in the secret underground village of Knothole, Princess Sally looked over a holographic file brought up from Nicole.  
  
It looked to be a structure of some kind that had been built little over two and a half weeks ago.   
  
"Nicole" she said " Bring up file of Robotroplis" "Processing, Sally" replied Nicole.  
  
Several electronic beeping sounds were emitted by her hand held computer as another projection came up. This time it was a map of the entire city of Robotropolis.  
  
The majority of the areas were labeled with names, noting the specific sections like the control room and the Swatbot factories.  
  
One area however was labeled with a number rather than just a regular name.  
  
"Enlarge this sector and exclude everything else" Sally told Nicole.  
  
All other sections were darkened out with only that one area lit up.  
  
In large green print it read "G-7".  
  
It was uncertain whether any one knew what this part of the city was used for. Mostly due to the fact that it was just built.  
  
"Access file name - 'Bio' " she said pressing a few buttons.  
  
There was a long silence for several minutes.  
  
"No files have been found" Nicole said finally "Level twelve security code required"  
  
She then closed Nicole and placed the computer inside her vest pocket.  
  
"What ever is going on in that building" Sally thought "Robotnik doesn't want any one to know what it is"  
  
The wall mounted clock read two-thirty as she walked out side of her hut and towards the memorial.  
  
It was down the road several yards away from the Lake of Rings. The path itself was surrounded by trees on either side as sunlight glinted through the leaves.  
  
Soon arriving at the grave site, Sally placed a bouquet of red and blue flowers at the headstone.  
  
"Sonic" she sighed sadly "If only ....if only there was some way he could've been saved."  
  
The headstone was made of oak with a solid gold plate riveted to it reading "In memory of Sonic the Hedgehog 3220~3235"  
  
The statue on top was posed in his usual confident stance- both feet firmly apart , one hand at his side while the other was in a "thumbs-up" and the usual cocky but confident grin.  
  
It wasn't fair that Sonic had been taken away from them so early. Without warning, Nicole starts to go off as the computer receives an emergency distress call from the Advance.  
  
"Incoming transmission...." Nicole said "Patching through to channel Priority One..."  
  
"Ad....ake....he....da...mage....em....enc....lan....ing" the transmission said through Nicole "repeat.... emergen.....land.....Advance ...damaged.."  
  
For the moment, Sally was startled by the sudden transmission. She barely had time to prepare for the landing . When it came to a stop right by the statue, smoke issuing from the airship both from the damaged areas and the overworked engines.  
  
As the jets come to an immediate halt, several moments pass before the engines stop and the hatchway opens. Revealing four characters.  
  
To Princess Sally's surprise, Knuckles the Echidna: whom had passed away many years ago, a strange looking Flicky bird from Flicky Island at whom she barely recognized because it had been many years since she had visited the vast tropical island - in fact the last time she visited it was with Sonic on one of his adventures, and two overlanders, a thirteen year old girl with long, blonde and wavy hair wearing a white short top t shirt and light blue denim jeans. Under the styled bangs were very bright green eyes similar to Sonic's that usually shone with the same kind of confidence, but now had shown too many mixed emotions and a young boy of twelve; his hair was a mixture of light brown and light blonde, his eyes were a sapphire blue, that stared at you as though to say "Don't worry! There's hope for tomorrow and today!", he wore a black jacket which stayed slightly open. Revealing a white t shirt. Over his neck, he wore a small emblem shaped like a sword that seemed half broken. On his head he wore a fine brown cowboy hat with a black leather strap around the top of it. Which on top laid out one of many different emblems from different regions from across Mobius.  
  
On his back laid a sheathe of wooden and metal carvings, surprisingly no sword lay in the sheathe. Then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, an earthquake in a can and a fuze from a microchip - everything came back to her and the three shady characters became all too familiar.  
  
Many questions and emotions rushed through her mind. The first was Knuckles who was thought to be dead, the second was Crystal Crazyshot, the third was Mike Wolfskin. Although Mike and Crystal appeared to be much younger than in the days of the alliance of the System Outcast Freedom Fighters. It was not only odd that they seemed younger or they were members of the S.O. alliance, but that neither of them have been seen for one of many years. Crystal had been seen two years before and yet Mike had not been seen since the death of young Miles Prower three years ago.   
  
Yet at the same time, it seemed strange that the System Outcast blade was not in its sheathe and Knuckles or someone that looked like him stood before her. The fourth character was a red Flicky bird, who she did not know. All four characters walked down slowly and became more visible.  
  
"It is a great honor to see you, Lady Crystal" Sally said kneeling on to one knee "Sir Mike and Sir...."   
  
She pauses a minute as aqua marine tears fall from the corner of her eyes seeing the red echidna before her "Knuckles."  
  
A bit confused, Knuckles turns to her and responds " Do I ... know you?"   
  
"Oh my" Sally thought " He has amnesia!"   
  
She then turns to Crystal and Mike, who appear to both have serious looks on their faces.  
  
"How may I help you?" she said "What brings you all the way out to Knothole?"  
  
"One of many problems. I can only ask you to brace yourself" said Mike.  
  
"Yes, but which one to speak of first?" said Crystal.   
  
"First, the most gravest. Apparently we have a new enemy on our hands to the west" Mike said " It seems that Metal Robotnik has risen again, but it seems to have a spirit of its own. It's far more maniacal than anyone we've faced before. Second the appearance of characters who should be dead.  
  
Mind you, I have theory and only a theory about this one. It appears as though characters like Sonic, Knuckles and possibly others have come from one universe into ours. Where their existence in our dimension is no more."  
  
"How did you come to that conclusion?" she said.  
  
"Well, it seems that though Knuckles would recognize me" Mike said " We were great friends and allies and Sonic died before our very eyes trying to save us."  
  
"I see" Knuckles said "So, I am im another universe."  
  
"The Space Colon ARK has appeared near FLicky Island" said Mike.  
  
"But at the same time, the ARK we know is still orbiting Mobius" said Crystal.  
  
"Fourth, I lost the System Outcast blade" Mike said " But, I will return for it at a later time." Mike's gaze focuses on the Advance that is still smoking and turns to Sally.  
  
"We just barely managed to escape Black Eggman's barrage of attacks" he said "Several of his weapons hit the Advance and it's in need of serious repair."  
  
Crystal stepped forward as she said " Also, we seemed to have found Sonic and he's in critical condition. I fear that he won't last without proper medical care."  
  
Her voice was slightly cracked as if she was going to cry the next second.  
  
Sally saw the mixed emotions in Crystal's eyes and understood completely.   
  
"I'll send for Dr. Quack immediately, Crystal" she said pressing the com link button on Nicole "Dr. Quack, this is Princess Sally. Meet me by the memorial. There's a medical emergency and your services are needed."  
  
Shortly after the call was made, a yellow duck in a white lab coat ran up to the group standing by the Advance.  
  
"Come this way, Doctor." Crystal said escorting him into the back of the ship "He's right here."  
  
They both came to the bed where Sonic laid still, almost lifeless.  
  
"This is serious, Ms. Crazyshot" Dr. Quack said "Help me take him to the medical ward"  
  
"Of course, Dr. Quack" she replied "I'll do anything I can to save Sonic."  
  
The two came out carrying the front and back end of Sonic's bed, carefully walking down the steps of the airship. Setting the injured hedgehog down on a stretcher as the group cleared the way.  
  
"Please tell me if and when there are any changes in his condition" Crystal said "Anything at all."  
  
The duck looked towards Crystal and responded " Agreed, Lady Crystal."  
  
As this conversation took place, Mike explained about Black Eggman and how he has made Flicky Island his base of operations.   
  
"He was too powerful for even me and Knuckles to take out on our own" he said "I think we should go after him in an all out assault before he can become a bigger threat to Mobius!"   
  
Princess Sally thought for a minute, back to the building that was recently discovered within Robotropolis.  
  
"You have a point, Mike" she said " But, first we have to check out what Robotnik's up to. He has a new building set up in the city and is under high security. Nicole couldn't even access any file s on it." "I thought things were too quiet in Robotropolis!" he said "Any other details we can go by?"  
  
"Nothing" Sally replied " Except for it was coded G-7 on the map file I recently received from Sonic's Uncle Charles."  
  
Taking out Nicole, she begun to press several buttons on the handheld computer as a holographic display flashed in front of the two.  
  
The same map that was brought up from earlier that day as the area of that map was the only building that was lit up.  
  
Meanwhile, Shadow comes to on the coast of a small island as the shrill cry of mew gulls can be heard.  
  
For the moment, his vision starts to clear but fades and blurs the next.  
  
"I am .....alive?" he said warily "I must be, but where is this place that I have ended up?"  
  
He looks around slightly tilting his head towards a dirt road, there appeared to be small dwellings in the far off distance.   
  
Crimson streaks of blood trickle down his face and arms as it sticks to his black fur.  
  
"This pain" Shadow thought "I can vaguely recall I have gotten injured, but how did I survive?"  
  
Shadow then tries to get up, falls heavily on his side as several injuries scream pain in protest.   
  
"How pathetic. Me, the Ultimate Life form and I can barely stand" he said weakly "Hah. What a joke!"  
  
As his vision started to fade more, he could barely make out a figure of an Overlander standing over him.  
  
"Huh.... who are ...you" Shadow said "and... where ...am I?'  
  
Visioning clearing again, Shadow sees what appears to be a young boy with a cap over his head and a long brown tail wrapped around his waist.  
  
Bill kneels down next to the black and red hedgehog, which appeared to be similar to Sonic in appearance. Shadow's markings however were very unique and different from his blue counterpart's; he was mostly black with a   
  
patch of white fur over his chest and was streaked with red down the back his legs and arms, over his head quills and lining the corners of his eyes.  
  
At the moment, his fur was a brownish red from blood stains. "I will explain everything once your wounds are taken care of" Bill said "For now lets get you to the infirmary"  
  
Shadow did not understand why this Overlander wanted to help him, after the incident on the ARK when it was boarded he had a strong distrust of Overlanders. They had no reason to kill Maria, she was only trying to help them both to escape to Mobius.  
  
"So, GUN sent someone to take me back to their research facility" he thought "I can't let them take me back 'there'! I won't let them!"  
  
As Bill tried to pick him up, Shadow leaped to the left. Standing warily as he watched him careful and cautiously. Fear clearly visible in the hedgehog's ruby red eyes.  
  
"It's alright" Bill said "I'm a Freedom Fighter."  
  
Somewhere in Shadow's hazy memory recognized the word, Eggman had often called Sonic that.  
  
"Freedom Fighter" he said "So, you don't work for the government?"  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Bill exclaimed "Robotnik's the government! Why would I work for aa over bloated scum sucker like him?!"  
  
Shadow's fear melted away as he begun to put his trust in the young Overlander.  
  
"Go ahead then" he said " Take me to your 'infirmary'"  
  
* * * *  
  
Shadow laid on his back in white clean sheets on a bed by a window.  
  
"I wonder if I am the only one that got sent here" he thought "Did Sonic make it here as well?"  
  
Most of his injuries had healed quite well for only a short amount of time. Professor Gerald had created him as the Ultimate Life form and as such allowed his injuries to heal much quicker than that of most people.  
  
"Now that I survived, what am I going to do now?" Shadow thought "I fulfilled my promise to Maria and saved Mobius from the destruction of the professor's self destruct program on the space colony. I suppose I should look for that blue hedgehog and see if he's here."  
  
Without warning, the whole room shook with a loud roar of a monster just outside.   
  
Shadow sprang to his feet and put on his gloves and hover skates.  
  
"What ever is going on " he said "I'd better investigate it!"  
  
He immediately ran outside to see a giant lizard like monster attacking the village.  
  
"Impossible!" Shadow exclaimed "Don't tell me that Professor Gerald's creation, the Biolizard is still alive! Sonic and I destroyed it!!!"  
  
The monster was an ugly grayish green on top with a sickly yellow colored underside as it stood on it's hind legs.   
  
"So, it has gained some intelligence and can stand upright" he thought "Whatever! I'll have to take it out before it can doom the world again."  
  
In the middle of the monster's war path, a young female two tailed fox tripped directly in front of it.  
  
She screamed in terror as it was about to step on her. When out of no where Shadow appeared and used Chaos Control to freeze the monster in place.  
  
"Get to a safe place!" he said " I will handle the monster!"  
  
As soon as the girl was out of harm's way, he looked directly at the monster.  
  
"So! You've come back to see who the REAL Ultimate Life form is!" Shadow said "Fine! Don't expect me to go easy, because I won't!"  
  
He then jumped to avoid a swipe of the lizards's huge tail and kicked in the back of its head. Knocking it over on its face. It got up and struck him on his shoulder. He recovered quickly enough to dodge another attack and reciprocate with a black flip kick to its side.   
  
"Had enough yet?!" he called to the monster "I'm going to make this quick!"  
  
Summoning a thunder bolt in his hand, Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at the giant lizard. It disintegrated the left arm up to the shoulder.   
  
"My attacks seem to have a weaker effect on the Biolizard than expected" he thought " Time do things the old fashioned way!"  
  
He then ran at full speed at the monster, which almost close to Sonic's running speed. Jumping at it and sprang into the Spin-dash.   
  
The attack split the monster in half and it dissipated. In its place, several small emerald pieces from the fake Chaos Emerald.   
  
Gathering them into his hand, he suddenly remembered what had happened- Chaos Control shattered the fake emerald. It's energies released and merged with that of the similar kind. Teleported him and everyone on the space colony to this place.  
  
"It is the fake," Shadow thought "It wasn't meant to be used for Chaos Control. Sonic used it once already for that purpose, that's why it broke in to several pieces after I attempted the same." He examined the Chaos Emerald pieces in his hand closely they didn't have a normal feel to them. Almost as though the positive polarity was nearly canceled out by the negative energies.   
  
"This doesn't make any sense" Shadow said quietly " When I had a normal Chaos Emerald in my hand, they had equal polarities. They were balanced."  
  
He then looked at them again.  
  
"These pieces seem to have a greater negative polarity than that of the seven original Chaos Emeralds" he thought "And that giant lizard was almost as if it was berserk. Just attacking everything in its path. It definitely had a negative feel to it."  
  
Suddenly, Shadow began to feel faint and started to fall to his knees. Catching himself at he last minute, breathing slightly heavier than normal.  
  
"Darn! My wounds have not fully healed!" he said out of breath "Looks like it is going to be awhile before I can search for Sonic and the others."  
  
His gaze then shifts behind him. Where Bill and his grandfather come running up to him.  
  
"That was incredible how you destroyed that monster! Almost like another hedgehog I used to know" Bill said "How'd you do that?!"  
  
"First, we should let him rest a bit more. He hasn't fully regained his strength,"Bill's grandfather said "Come. Let us go inside. We shall talk inside the house."  
  
Meanwhile on a small untraveled dirt path, three travelers stop in their tracks.  
  
"Why did you stop so suddenly, Nike?" Lily asked "What's wrong?"  
  
Nike's eyes focus on the road to his left, narrowing as if searching for something. A deep growl issues from his throat as he clenches his fists tight enough to turn stark white.  
  
"Blood! I can smell it!" he answered without shifting his gaze "Someone has been fighting recently!"  
  
He then runs towards the nearby village like a bolt. Leaving Tails and Lily behind.  
  
"HEY!" Lily yelled "Don't leave me here! Wait up, Nike!"  
  
Tails then flies off and chases after the black echidna.  
  
Silence passes the short three or so minutes as Lily begins to realize that she is the only one standing on the small road.  
  
"You guys!" she exclaims "Wait for me!"  
  
Sometime later, the trio comes across a town that has been recently attacked. Of which there is nothing left. Buildings and trees are burned to the ground, large red blotches scatter the ground of blood stains and what is left is literally smoldering in the ruins.  
  
Not too far away stood the very thing responsible for the wide spread massacre, a shiny metallic blue hedgehog-like robot that bared a striking resemblance to Sonic. Its eyes were not normal digital red. They were completely red, as if it had a mind of its own and was possessed by the devil himself. The usual bright metallic blue was a dark midnight blue and the silver was a dark pitch black. Its whole frame had a dim yellow glow that seemed to mix with the light of the fires. Making it look a sick yellowish green color. Its cold stare made it even more evil.  
  
Seeing this, Lily immediately hid behind Tails for protection. Clinging on to him like a vine.  
  
Then the strange and menacing robot spoke as its razor sharp hand ripped straight through one of the remaining villagers. Blood running down its arm.  
  
"This area is under siege of Black Eggman" it said "Anyone who resists will face death!"  
  
Scanning the ruins for anyone else that would get in its master's way, the robot saw a lone girl in the midst of the wrecked village. Hiding around what was left of a small house.  
  
The robot was about to attack her, when a large blade comes between the girl and its claws.  
  
"You've got a lot of nerve attacking those who can't defend themselves, pal!" Nike said annoyed "This is one villager you won't be attacking."  
  
Nike steadily held his sword as it was pushed back by the robot. "Oh?"it said "And who are you, echidna?!" The cold metallic voice had an electronic quality that was hinted with a slight touch of Sonic's own.   
  
Breaking the sword lose of its grip, Nike swung it to the left and hit the robot. The hit left a tiny scratch which almost automatically repaired.  
  
"Metal Gear Sonic!" said Black Eggman through a communication device by its ear "What's taking you so long!"   
  
In a peeved voice Metal Gear Sonic answered "I've run into some trouble, master!"  
  
"I don't care how you deal with the problem"he yelled "Just do it"  
  
Now that Metal Gear Sonic was given the power to do as he pleased with his enemy, it decided to have some fun with him.  
  
"Pathetic organic!" Metal Gear Sonic said "You shall pay for interfering with my master's plans!"  
  
Several of Metal's attempted attacks were blocked with Nike's sword as he also attempted to get several hits in on the mechanoid hedgehog. Without warning, he received about three deep gashes across the right arm. Causing him to drop his sword. Nike tightly closed his eyes trying to block out the pain of his injury.   
  
Picking up the sword with his left hand, he just as skillfully hacked at the robot causing minor damage to its frame. Nothing more than scratches on the dark blue and black finish.  
  
"Foolish echidna!" Metal yelled "You can't harm me! I am indestructible!" "We'll see about that!" Nike said "Take this!"  
  
Nike's sword landed a slice mark down its face the size of a thin paper cut.  
  
He was then pinned to the ground as he felt the robot's fingers run straight through his chest. The black echidna screamed from the unexpected pain.  
  
Fueled by anger and fury, Nike pushed his attacker off of him despite the injuries. Blood from the wound to his chest stained his fur a reddish brown and the claws of the robot a dark crimson from finger tip to wrist.  
  
Hitting rapidly with his large sword, Nike scored several hits on Metal. Which appeared to cause mild damage to it and deactivated it but it had activated the temporary deactivation sequence to repair itself.  
  
"Dammit!" Nike said as he slumped down slightly on to his back "This is seriously going to slow me down!"  
  
The young girl then came out of hiding. "Is it still alive?" she asked.  
  
"Ah! If it is, I'm gonna shove this sword down its circuit board" he answered "That metal Sonic-wanna-be has caused me enough trouble already."  
  
Lily and Tails caught up to Nike as he held his hand up to the wound on his chest to stop the bleeding.  
  
"It's alright. I don't think he'll come back on line anytime soon" Nike said "Besides, I need time to regain my strength"  
  
They both caught him as he collapsed. "Is he going to be alright?" asked Tails. "He just needs time to heal" Lily said "Nike's got a way of coming back from even the most serious of injuries."  
  
"That's right, just look for a place that we go to for shelter" Nike said "For now, I just need some rest." 


	4. What Ever Happened to Amy Rose?

Sonic Pandemonium  
  
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a Team Icon)  
  
Issue Four "What Ever Happened to Amy Rose?"  
  
It was a bright shiny day. Amy Rose awakened within the vicinity of a wooden cottage or so it seemed at first glance. In the middle of the room laid the trunk of a tree. It went through the floor to the roof. The whole place looked like it had been built around the tree itself. Around the trunk was a circular bench that could be used for one of two things; sitting and it looked as though there were drawers were you place things. She could here the birds chirping outside the window. The light began to glare in on her forehead. She stretched her arms begin to yawn. The air blew through the open window ever so slightly cold and warm. In with the wind came a few leafs and beautiful and strange looking flowers. They had the wonderful smell of cherries.  
  
Walking outside, Amy saw a magenta hedgehog with dark fuchsia head and back quills. She wore a dark pink short sleeve t shirt with a black skirt and an odd crescent shaped medallion that resembled a key board.   
  
"Late again" she sighed "Where is he?"  
  
Seconds later, a green hedgehog came from around the corner wearing a brown vest and matching waist bag also with a strange looking medallion. This one was   
  
formed fo three ovals and looked like it was shaped like a set of drums. His top head quills went up and over his eyes like bangs almost out in every direction.   
  
In one hand he carried a set of drumsticks that had been given to him as a gift. In the other, a hover board was held.  
  
"Check this out, sis'" he said "My hover board has been modified!"  
  
He then threw it in front of himself and jumped on.  
  
"Manic Hedgehog!" his sister said "What on Mobius are going to need a hover board for?"  
  
"Ah. C'mon, Sonia!" Manic said "You never know when this is going to come in handy!"  
  
Sonia just put her hands to side and gave Manic an annoyed look. Before the debate could turn in to an argument, a young rabbit came up to the two with a chao in a bow tie following not too far behind.   
  
"Oh good. I am very pleased to see that both of you could meet me here" she said "There is something Cheese and I discovered something by the river!"  
  
The three then left for the river. Manic flying on his hover board.   
  
Moments later Amy climbed down the rope ladder and was approached by a white cat with a black patch of fur over the shoulder and left eye. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail that came up over her back.   
  
"Those three are always going off somewhere." she said "The Sonia and Manic need something to get over the passing of their twin brother. They hardly ever play music anymore."   
  
"They lost their twin brother" Amy asked sympathetically "Does that mean they used to be triplets?"  
  
She looked back towards Amy as if too answer, but just sighed.  
  
"Oh. I almost forgot. My name is Kari" she said "After Robotnik took over, those two were brought to this place to live here while their brother was sent to Knothole Village."  
  
Kari then looked to where the three young Mobians took off to.  
  
"The Sonia and Manic used to play music almost everyday" she explained "but it's been quiet since Sonic died."  
  
"Sonic's dead?!" Amy gasped in a panicked tone "That can't be!"  
  
She then fell to her knees and began to cry. Questioning how and why.  
  
"Will I never be able to see him again?" she thought "How could Sonic die? He's too strong willed to die!"  
  
In the middle of Amy's "hero mourning", sharp roar pierced the silence, nearly startling her out of her solemn thoughts. It was a large plant like monster that had a single purple flower with its face being in the center and vines outstretching almost two and a half times its body length.  
  
The roar came from the area that the three friends had been exploring.  
  
"Hey, man!" Manic said to the monster " Go find another party to crash!"  
  
"Manic!" Sonia exclaimed "Get back here!"   
  
While running away, the young rabbit that was with them tripped and was lifted into the air by the monster.   
  
At that moment, a bright red fox with dark reddish brown hair wearing a yellow bow and matching boots with a light brown waist bag started attacking the plant monster in an attempt to get it drop her friend.  
  
"You leave Cream alone you big bully!" she yelled throwing rocks at it.  
  
"Uh... Fiona, I don't think that's going to work" Manic said "He's not fazed by the rocks!"  
  
"Manic, what about the medallions created by Merlin Prower?" Sonia said "We haven't had the chance to see what they cam do!"  
  
"I'm way ahead of you, Sonia" Manic said "Maybe they'll help in fighting that overgrown Venus fly trap!"  
  
Holding they're hands to the medallions they each turned into a musical instrument. Sonia's was a portable key board and Manic's turned in to a drum set.  
  
Kari joined the fight as she came at the monster with her claws unsheathed, ready to scratch it. She scored a large scratch across its face that only served to annoy it.  
  
Several other young Mobians joined the fight with any weapon they could find. Which was pretty much short wooden swords and larger rocks.  
  
"Hey there, tall dark and 'grew-some' "Manic called "Here some sounds from the underground!" Using his drumsticks, Manic created a shock wave that knocked the monster on to its feet.  
  
Sonia activated a laser blaster from the keyboard and shot the vine holding Cream. Causing it to release her immediately as Manic reabsorbed his drum set and got his hover board to catch her.  
  
"Thank you very much for saving me, Manic" said Cream.  
  
"Don't mention it, Cream" Manic replied "It was nothing"  
  
after setting her down to a safe place, he tried to activate the medallion again. Only to find out that it was low on energy.  
  
"Hey, sis'!" he called "My medallion's totally drained! You got this guy until it recharges."  
  
Their medallions had been losing power since Sonic's death, but it was never thought that they would drain completely or would there be a need to use them.  
  
Without thinking, he just ran up the side of the plant monster and started doing drum riffs on its head. It reached over and caught him by the ankle. Hanging him upside down. Fiona picked up a rock and tied it to a fallen tree branch. She then hurled it at the monster. The projectile struck it in the eye as it waved its vines wildly throwing Manic about in every direction the air. Another weapon was made and thrown at the monster. This time, it cut the vine holding him.  
  
"Manic, are you alright?" Sonia said concerned "How do you feel?"  
  
Manic had a greener complexion than usual and held his hands up to his mouth.  
  
"Sick." he replied "Excuse me, sis'! I gotta go hurl!"  
  
He then ran for the nearest bathroom. Passing Amy on his way.  
  
She looked towards the fight scene where everyone had been struggling with the monster. Walking into the melee she pulled out what looked like a small handle. Extending it into her Piko Piko hammer. Her walk turned to a fast run as it was held behind her. The pace quickened until she was close to the plant monster. Jumping into the air, Amy raised her hammer and whacked it on the side of its head. Making it spit out the Chaos Emerald shards that it had.  
  
With the effects reversed, it shrunk to the size of a regular daisy. It then ran away whimpering like a scared creature.  
  
"Don't know who you are, but thanks for the help" Sonia said surprised "Come with me to my hut and we'll get to know each other better."  
  
Later that day, Amy asked many questions. Kari had to tell her to slow down while they were answered.  
  
"First, let me introduce these two,"she said "Sonia and Manic Hedgehog. Before their birth, Merlin Prower created a medallion for each of them. They were brought here for protection against Robotnik when he took over. Bernadette gave their brother to Sir Charles Hedgehog to live in Knothole Village."  
  
" They were supposed to keep us together" Manic said walking out of the back room "Little good that did!"  
  
He was starting to feel better from his episode of being tossed like rag doll, but still clutched at his stomach uneasily.  
  
"Ugh! I don't think I can take another trip like that!" he said "My stomach is still doing circles!"  
  
Seeing the green hedgehog that bore a striking resemblance to Sonic, Amy jumped to her feet and exclaimed "Sonic!" Running up to Manic and hugging him.   
  
"Huh? I'm not Sonic. My name's Manic" he said "I'm sure you've heard of my brother's death?"  
  
Amy let her arms slide off from him as she sat back down. "I still can't believe that Sonic's dead," she said.  
  
Manic's started to fill with tears. "I can relate to that, man!" he said sadly "I'm still having trouble believing it and I'm his brother!"  
  
"I didn't know Sonic had a brother!" said Amy. He then broke down in tears as they flowed freely from his eyes. "Why did he have to die?!" he cried "It's just not fair! I barely had the chance to know him."  
  
Sonia patted her brother's back trying to console him. "Manic?" she said "I'm sure it was for a good cause."  
  
This was the same thing she told Manic when they first heard of their brother's tragic death, but it unfortunately had the exact same effect. It made him more upset.  
  
"And what cause was that?!" he said still crying "To separate us?! I'm sure we were going to be reunited when Robotnik was defeated, but now we can't do that now that he's dead!"  
  
"He's kind of sensitive" Kari said "And he has very strong feelings and emotions"  
  
"I didn't mean to upset you, Manic" said Amy apologetically.  
  
Manic wiped away his tears and sat down with the group. "Nah! It's alright" he said "I needed to get that off my quills. I feel a little better now."  
  
"We were both devastated when news reached us of Sonic's passing"Sonia said "Manic is still trying to get over it."  
  
"I found you by the shore of this village"Kari explained " You were out unconscious and I brought you here. It's usually safe from intruders that's why most young children that are here are either orphaned or brought by their parents for safe haven. Since then, we've formed our own orphanage gang."  
  
Everyone said in unison "The Triple Trouble Freedom Fighters."  
  
"And we've been looking out for each other since" Manic said "Well, it's getting kind of late we'd better hit the sack and catch some z's"  
  
"I'm with you, brother" Sonia agreed.   
  
Amy and Sonia decided to stay up late that night. Talking about this and that. They drank hot chocolate till their hearts' delight. Stick after stick, they roasted marshmallows over a fire for s'mores with cherry blossom petals cooked into them.  
  
Sonia mentioned that it was a rare delicacy at this time of season and that they only bloom at this time. They told scary stories like "Resident Evil". The night grew long and dreary and before long, the two decided to go to sleep. Amy stayed over at Sonia's place. She tried to go to sleep in the extra bed that Sonia had incase Manic stayed over, but the bed was apparently made for a mere child of seven. Which mysteriously everyone in the village was the same age. They all strangely looked as though they were seven, which was okay because they were also very kind. Mysteriously, Amy felt as though she was closer to their age. Tonight, more than usual. Even though she was fourteen. She felt she was closer to their age because, she was once ten. That was before she wished upon a strange Magic Ring. Why had she done it? To be closer to Sonic's affection, she did it so that she could journey with him on some big adventure. It didn't work, she had all but given up on Sonic.  
  
Besides, he was dead. There would be no changing that fact. She decided to put her mind at ease. Tossing and turning, she tried to cover her whole body with the small blanket. But she could not cover her feet, because it was too small. To make matters worse, there was a cabinet in front of the bed. Which by any means could not be moved. It had been built into the wall. The bed was so small and she was so big that her feet would hang over the bed, but in this case, the cabinet was in the way. She had to place her feet against it. The last thing she remembers hearing before she goes to sleep was Sonia ask her "So, how old are you?"  
  
Amy replied "Fourteen". She finally falls asleep and slowly minute by minute she became warmer. Somehow she had become very comfortable in the small confined space. The cold wind didn't seem to blow so cold on her feet anymore. That's when she noticed that her feet were covered by the blankets as well as her body. She stretched and yawned, but it was her own voice yawning that startled her.  
  
"That's not my voice, it sounds too young" Amy said "Ah! That's not my voice is it?! Ack! Am I sick or something?"  
  
She quickly looked at her hands, they appeared to be normal sized. "Whew. I thought I had shrunk or something like Thumbelina" she said "Must be my imagination." But with those words, her hands shrunk in font of her very own eyes.   
  
She threw the blankets off and jumped out of bed. She then looks at her child-like body in amazement and said "YAAAH!!! I've shrunk IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!!"  
  
Meanwhile in the polluted city of Robotropolis, Robotnik sat at the control room as a Swatbot came on one of the screens. "All sectors report nominal, your rotundness" it reported "no sign of Freedom Fighter activity in three months."  
  
At that time, Snively came in holding a pizza box and cautiously opened the door.  
  
"Excuse me, master Robotnik" he said.  
  
Irritated by this interruption, Robotnik turned his chair around to face his lackey.  
  
"What is it?!" he snapped "This had better be good!" Snively presented him with the pizza box. "I hate to disturb you, master Robotnik" he said " But your pizza has arrived."  
  
The tyrant took the box and asked "Is it evil?" Snively replied "Yes, Lord Robotnik! It is. It is!"  
  
Some kind of dark ghost-like spirit flew out of the box as it was opened.   
  
"This is good. Very good indeed, Snively" Robotnik said "Take a good look! This something that those so called "Freedom Fighters" won't be expecting! MWAHAHA!"  
  
He then pointed towards a building that was over three feet taller than the other buildings. Several Swatbots had been posted guard there, because its undeniably large size would be sure to attract the attention of the core group of Freedom Fighters in Knothole Village. Then again, without their best team mate they wouldn't get past the Swatbots without getting captured. He was then reminded of the day the hedgehog had finally bought the farm. He was finally rid of that troublesome Sonic. Recalling the very last moments of that no-good pin cushion, the trap set so perfectly that he had inadvertently walked right into it.   
  
"Enough reminiscing!" Robotnik said flatly "What of the supplies from G-7? Do the Tech Bots have them ready to transport to the labs in the southern wing of the control room?"  
  
"Production has reported that everything is going along ahead of schedule, sir" he answered "they just need to deliver it to the freighter vehicle."  
  
Robotnik twirled one side of his mustache with his robotic hand "Excellent, Snively" he said "Send for it immediately!" "Yes. At once, oh oval one" replied Snively.   
  
Before the short Overlander could walk out, he was halted by a last minute order.  
  
"Not a word of this latest development is to leave this room" Robotnik said threateningly "If it does, I'm going to Roboticize you and use you as the world smallest paper weight. Understand?!"  
  
Unnerved by the tyrant's threat of Roboticization, Snively loosened the collar around his shirt and said "V-very clear. S-sir!"  
  
Unknown to either Overlanders that the pizza delivery boy was actually a light blue hedgehog that appeared to be Roboticized.   
  
"This is serious" he said " I have to warn the Freedom Fighters!"  
  
Meanwhile back at the Triple Trouble Freedom Fighter team's domain in a nearby young pink hedgehog's house, a new young pink hedgehog is throwing a fit about her new age.  
  
"Aaaah! My clothes don't even fit!" she said.  
  
Amy's clothes begin to slip from shoulder to shoulder. The clothes she is wearing then drop from her shoulders to the ground as she shrinks smaller and smaller.  
  
"Aaah! I'm going to shrink into an ity bity baby at this rate."  
  
Suddenly from the top bunk Sonia looks down and says " No you're not. You're going to revert until you're seven."   
  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Sonia?!" Amy snapped.  
  
She then shrinks smaller. Basically, Sonia doesn't like Amy's response and decides to have a little fun with her.  
  
"It's okay, little sister. I'll take care of you." she said "It'll only take you seven years to grow up. I'll take care of you when you shrink in to an ity bity, teeny baby. Don't worry about it, I'll be your mommy, sweetie. Though I'm not quite sure if I remember how to change ity bity diapers, but I'll figure it out."  
  
Then Amy looks embarrassed with a scared like look, she shrinks down the size of what she previously was. She now resembles a seven year old hedgehog. Sonia then screams out in laughter "April Fools!"  
  
Taking out her Piko Piko hammer, Amy starts going wild after Sonia screaming "It's not nice to make fun of people!!!"  
  
Sonia runs out her hut to get out of the way of Amy's warpath out in to the snow. At this same time Manic had just woken up and looks out to see Amy completely naked. He immediately runs back into his hut. Amy doesn't notice at first, but a cold wind blows past her. Making her realize how cold it is and yells "What's going on here?!"  
  
"Come back inside or you'll freeze, Amy" Sonia said "C'mon!"  
  
All of a sudden the wind gets colder and Amy wraps her arms around her shoulders for warmth. Running back inside into Sonia's hut.  
  
"You'll catch a cold if stay outside in the snow with no clothes on" said Sonia.  
  
"What am I supposed to do about that? All of my clothes are too big for me" Amy said " I have nothing to wear!"  
  
"I think I can fix that problem" Sonia said thoughtfully " Wait here and I'll be right back!" She then walked into the back room of her hut to look for something for Amy.  
  
Minutes later, she came out with a light blue silk dress. Accompanied with violet ribbon.  
  
"Try this one on" said Sonia. Amy took the dress and placed up to her as if she were seeing is it was the right size. Then slipped it on, it fit perfectly.   
  
"Wow!" she exclaimed "It's perfect!" Sonia folded her arms over her chest and thought for a minute. "Not quite," she said "It still needs something to make it complete." Sonia then placed the violet ribbon behind Amy's top set of head quills.  
  
Then they both walked to the bathroom to use the mirror. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Sonia said "Definitely you, little sister."  
  
She couldn't help but giggle a little as she suppressed a laugh. "Hey! I'm older than you!" said Amy.  
  
"We're all the same age, but since you shrank after I did. That makes you 'younger' than me" Sonia explained. "By the way, what's the deal with this strange weather? It was fall yesterday and now it's winter!" said Amy.  
  
"Oh, that! This place changes season every day ," she continued "That's why the cherry blossoms are a rare delicacy. We get them every other day. Haha."  
  
"How did I revert to a seven year in the first place?" Amy asked "Something like that just doesn't happen!"  
  
"Any one who enters this forest changes from their previous age to a seven year old child." Sonia said " The only way to change back is to leave the border, but a shield makes that impossible. I didn't think it was necessary to concern you with those details."   
  
Later that day, Amy came out and saw Cream making something with flowers.  
  
"Hi. What're you doing" she asked "It looks interesting"  
  
Cream looked up at the pink hedgehog that had just spoken. "I'm making flower crowns for everyone in the village with the flowers I picked yesterday" she answered " Would like to make some too?"  
  
"Sure!" Amy accepted " This is going to be lots of fun!"  
  
As night fell upon the forest, everyone sat by a large campfire.  
  
By coincidence, Manic sat by Amy. They both looked at each other with an embarrassed _expression. The blush showed right through Manic's green fur .  
  
"Uh... listen I didn't mean to stare at ya like that" he said nervously "I'm s-sorry."  
  
"I kind of liked the attention" Amy said "Don't worry about it"  
  
He was very surprised by what Amy had said, because when he had walked in on his sister. She screamed all kinds of thing s at him about manners and didn't he ever hear of a thing called a door he was supposed to knock on before entering.   
  
"My sister is the only female hedgehog I've seen around here," Manic said "Until we found you that is."  
  
For the next ten minutes, he tripped over his words as tried to think of what to say next. He then said "Um.. It be great if ..uh...we could be ... boyfriend and girlfriend."  
  
The blush reddened further on Manic's complexion. Not sure what kind of response he would get. Between them was a long awkward silence, before Amy took hold of his hand in her own. " I think that would a great idea, Manic." she replied "Sure."  
  
Manic then smiled for the first time in three months as his brown eyes shone brightly and filled the spark that had been missing in a long while.  
  
Grasping both of Amy's hands in his own he said "Thanks."  
  
As the night went on, they fell sleep by the campfire leaning against each other. Each holding the other's hands. Sonia watched this and thought "He's been so depressed since Sonic died, this is the happiest I've seen him in a long time." 


	5. The Decision of the Counsel War Games

Sonic Pandemonium  
  
  
  
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin  
  
  
  
Issue Five- The Decision of the Counsel = War Games  
  
  
  
In the secret underground village of Knothole, a discussion was under way. Concerning the new and old threats that faced Mobius. All the core Freedom Fighters of Knothole assembled by the long table as numerous monitors were displayed in the middle.  
  
"It has become apparent that we have more than one threat has been made clear this day" Princess Sally proclaimed "The problem is which one do we deal with first?"  
  
Then Bill on one of the right monitors spoke "From what we know, this Black Eggman character can control pretty much anything that contains a piece a Negative Chaos Emerald inside of it. This includes anything living as well as machine."  
  
From another monitor appeared Lily, Nike and Tails. Nike appeared to have bandages on his right arm and over his chest. He also looked weak and worn out from his fight with Metal.  
  
"He has control of this mean looking hedgehog-like robot" he said "It destroyed an entire village in his name and nearly tore me apart."  
  
Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest as he heard what Nike had said.  
  
"That sounds like Mecha Sonic" he thought "But even it wasn't that atrocious."   
  
"If he takes control over Robotropolis, his power will surely make him unstoppable!" Mike said slamming a fist on the table "We have to take out any of Robotnik's robots before any these Negative Chaos Emeralds have the chance to be activated again."  
  
The president of Station Square spoke up on one of the middle monitor "Maybe we make a truce with Robotnik to join forces against Black Eggman."  
  
"No way! Don't even trust that lying snake!" Sonic exclaimed "He'll go back on his word!"  
  
With his good arm, he pushed himself forward in a wheel chair. Where some of his bandages were now were stitches across his chest, back and forehead by the corner of his left eye. He appeared very weak and his breathing was still labored, but was mild compared to how distressed it was when Crystal had found him. Several bandages covered the right side of his head and lower torso. The right arm was held in sling.  
  
Seeing his friend in bad shape, Knuckles ran up to Sonic and looked him over trying to believe how weak the blue hedgehog looked.  
  
"Sonic, are you alright?" he asked in concern.  
  
Sonic had slight trouble breathing, which started show when he was tired.  
  
"Hey there, Knux," he said weakly "How've ya been?"  
  
From another monitor, three voices said in surprise "Sonic?!"  
  
It was Sonia, Manic and Amy from the Triple Trouble Freedom Fighters.  
  
"But didn't he die almost three months ago?" Sonia said "How is that he's alive?"  
  
Manic stepped up to th monitor to see for himself. "Hey, man. I can't believe it's really you, bro!" "What about those shards we found from that plant that attacked recently?" Amy piped up "They were similar to the ones found by the others."  
  
"A good point, Amy" Sonia said "Other groups found emerald shards that they reported something that attacked."  
  
"Hey, Ames." Sonic said short of breath "You look .....younger."  
  
"Sonic, are you okay?" Amy said in a worried but panicked voice.  
  
A sharp pain then tugged at Sonic's left side as he closed his eyes tightly and clutched at the wound. Knuckles became even more worried about him.  
  
"Maybe you should go back to the medical ward and rest more" he said "you look terrible!"  
  
Sonic just looked at the red echidna with pale green eyes. The stress he had been through physically started to wear on the hedgehog as he began to feel very tired.  
  
"I'll manage" was the reply from him, but his voice almost faint and weak.  
  
Shadow appeared on the same monitor that Bill was on previous and said "Long time no see, blue hedgehog!"  
  
Seeing Shadow alive, made Sonic almost forget his injuries as he asked excitedly "Shadow?! Is that you? I thought you burned up in Mobius' atmosphere! How are you? How did you survive?!"  
  
Shadow's ruby red eyes brightened slightly to hear Sonic's voice. In the same confident manner as Sonic did he replied "What can I say? I die hard. You actually save you know."   
  
Sonic couldn't help but laugh a little when he heard the exact same thing he said to Shadow when they were on the ARK.  
  
The black and red hedgehog then saw that Sonic was in stitches and bandages. "Well, I'm feeling a little better than you probably are, Sonic" he said "Take care of yourself and get some rest so that you can recover. Okay?"  
  
"So, Shadow's here too huh?" Knuckles thought "and so is Tails and Amy."  
  
"We could start organizing an attack force to get rid the threats before us," Geoffrey St. John said " It wouldn't take very long to train some people for this."  
  
"An interesting suggestion." Sally said "Any others?"  
  
"With more strength is needed than just a small team" Mike said "Why don't we hold a tournament for everyone around Mobius from every Freedom Fighter group. It could even bring back th System Outcast Freedom Fighters together. It's just the thing to sharpen our skills"  
  
The skunk crossed his arms and looked away from him saying something about what good are out of practice "trainees" going to do and more experienced fighters would be more effective.  
  
"You know what your problem is, St. Jerk?!" he said with a clenched right fist "Why don't you say that so that the whole class can hear you!"  
  
With unrestrained anger, Mike hit Geoffrey straight in the face with enough force to give him a bloody nose.  
  
"Anyways, it will be open for any to participate and in the meantime for those that are injured like Sonic and Nike. " Mike said "We should set something up so that they can rehabilitate from their wounds and later join the this tournament if they want."  
  
He then cracks his knuckles and said "Besides, it'll be fun!"  
  
At this time, everyone starts thinking- -   
  
  
  
Crystal: Damn Mike. Troublesome! I wanted that first hit!  
  
  
  
Knuckles: Damn Mike. Troublesome! I wanted that first hit!  
  
  
  
Antoine: Damn Mike. Troublesome! I wanted zhat first hit!  
  
  
  
Lily: Damn Mike. Troublesome! I wanted that first hit!  
  
  
  
Nike: Damn Mike. Troublesome! I wanted that first hit!  
  
  
  
Mike then turns towards Bill who is once again on screen. "Speaking of getting the S.O. team back together, we'll need all the help we can get. You think the others will want to join up once again?"  
  
"Once they hear what's goin' down, I'm sure they will be more than happy join up for the alliance!" Bill answered "But it will take some time for the repairs on the Advance to be complete, right?"  
  
"I got it covered, guys" Tails said "You can use the Tornado in the meantime!" "That's a great idea, Tails!" Mike exclaimed "Lets get started then."   
  
"Great. We'll split up to look for the others" Bill said "that way, we'll cover more area. Besides, they'll want to all chew you out for losing the System Outcast blade."   
  
Mike then fell over after hearing what Bill had just said.  
  
"Ah! Come on!" he said "Give me a break!"  
  
"Well, take better care of that sword" Bill stated flatly "And you won't get yelled at"  
  
"Back to business!" Princess Sally said " We will send out the word about the tournament first thing tomorrow morning."   
  
Within the next several months, the preparations were made and the tournament is now about to begin. Within the ring, the first round starts with Mike and Knuckles. "Just so that you know" Knuckles said " I don't lose easily!" His eyes shone brightly with confidence as he brushed back a dread lock. "Neither do I, Knux!" replied Mike.  
  
The two stared each other down as the judges announced the start of this match.   
  
On the word "go", they went at each other with fierce determination. Each blocked hit resulted with sparks forming between them. This brightly illuminated the area with in a twelve yard radius even though it was still day time. They then broke off and skidded back several paces. Knuckles then came back with a flurry of fisticuffs as he ran at his top speed. Several hits and punches were connected with great strength. Mike dodged the last couple of them and reversed the echidna. Landing a hit to the back. "Argh! Stand still!" yelled Knuckles as he whirled both fists like two spiky wheels. They came at each other again and Knuckles' hit connected sending his opponent several yards back. "Not bad, Knuckles." Mike said "But now we will end this match!"   
  
At that same moment, they ran towards each other at top speed. Both held back their right hands to deliver the finishing blow.  
  
In a short twelve seconds, it was over as they were both hit in the face at the same time. Both Knuckles and Mike fell over backwards. "We have a tie!" the judges announced as a flag was flown over the arena.  
  
Up next was Crystal and Shadow. As the match was about to start, Shadow couldn't help stare frozen for several minutes. In his mind he had thought he had seen his friend from the Space Colony ARK. "Maria." he said with a slight broken tone to his voice. "What?" Crystal said confused "Me? But I'm not..."  
  
"Is that right?" Shadow said "You do look exactly like her though." Putting a hand to his left side then looking another time to make sure his eyes weren't just playing tricks on him. "I must be kidding myself if I think Maria is still alive." he thought "She died when we were to escape from the ARK when those Overlanders boarded   
  
it over fifty years ago."  
  
Shadow's ruby red eyes then shone intensely bright, like two red Chaos Emeralds. Determination shone clearly in them as he started running towards Crystal on his hover skates. His first hit was blocked and reversed with a sweep. Knocking him to his knees for a few minutes before he got up and avoided a hit and countered with a back flip kick to the side.  
  
"Is that all you got, Shadow?" Crystal said "C'mon!"  
  
The black and red hedgehog then came back with a lightning fast hit to the back side. It unbalanced Crystal for the moment, but did a jumping back flip and landed opposite of Shadow. Before a hit was landed, he used Chaos Control to warp time and get out of the way. He then held up one hand to summon a Chaos Spear as hr did when he and Sonic fought on the run to the Eclipse Cannon. His concentration was broken by a series of kicks in rapid succession of each other.  
  
"I haven't fought like this since Sonic and I were on the ARK" Shadow thought "Time to take this to the next level!"  
  
He then came back with several strong punches as the last one was blocked and then reversed, but he didn't give any quarter this time and used Chaos Control to faze out again and reappear right behind Crystal.  
  
She caught his arm and threw him to the other side of the arena.  
  
A last minute flip prevented him from falling out. "Wow!" he said "Not everyday I find some one who fights just as well as I do!"   
  
Confidence shone in Crystal's emerald green eyes in the exact same way Sonic's does when he's confident he going to win.  
  
"Ready, Shadow?" she asked "You do know that neither of us lose easily. Let's give it everything!"  
  
"You're on!" Shadow said with a challenging smile.  
  
Shadow ran towards Crystal as he picked up speed with each step he took. Eventually turning into a blur of blackish-red color. His hit missed as Crystal jumped up out of the way and knocked him face first in to the ground. Before she could get another hit in, he reversed it and flipped her on to her back. In the next second, the move was countered and met with a strong hit in between the shoulder blades. "Is that your best shot, Overlander?" Shadow said "I have had worse from Sonic!"  
  
"You'll see, Shadow" Crystal answered "Just keep it comin'!"  
  
"With pleasure!" he said.  
  
Shadow's fast moves momentarily confused Crystal for about three minutes.   
  
That was until he was blocked and countered with back handed hit to the side.  
  
"That hurt" Shadow said ".....a little. I wasn't even bruised!"  
  
Both fighters came at each other blocking and countering every move. Crystal ran towards Shadow and attempted to land a solid hit. Only to see him faze out again.  
  
This time she arrived at the exact same spot where Shadow reappeared and hit in the back with her elbow.   
  
"Im-impossible. My Chaos Control defeated" he said " This cannot be. I am the ultimate..." Three seconds later he collapsed.  
  
"And winner by knockout" the judges proclaimed "is Crystal Crazyshot!"  
  
The crowd cheered excitedly as Crystal caught her breath.  
  
"That was awesome, Crystal" Sonic said as they each exchanged a high five "Way Past Cool!" "Thanks" she replied "Isn't your best pal up next?"   
  
The drums then sounded the start of the third round. Both fighters entered the arena.  
  
"Round Three! Tails versus Lily" announced the judges.  
  
  
  
"What?! Not her!" Tails exclaimed" Why her?!"  
  
"Hi there, handsome," Lily said, waving to Tails in a flirty manner.  
  
"Go get her, Tails!" Sonic encouraged from the audience.  
  
Tails then ran towards Lily at full speed, propelled by his twin tails spinning like fan blades. She jumped out the way, but was thrown to the ground with strong hit to the back. Catching herself Lily tried to land a hit on the two-tailed fox, but he flew out of the way. Almost falling out, she then tried again. Only to be met with the same result. "Cheater!" Lily yelled "come back down here!"  
  
"All's fair in love and war, Lily!" Tails said back.  
  
He then did a flying swoop and dive bombed her from below. This was dodged in time with duck and roll to the other side. At the last minute, this maneuver was countered with a swift tail-whack that knocked her on her back.  
  
"You won't dodge this one!" Tails called "Take this!"  
  
Without warning, he tackled her from the air as they both tumbled in a blue and orange heap. Finally stopping several centimeters short of falling out of the arena. They both caught themselves at the last minute. Lily dodged the second attempt and jumped to the right.   
  
For several minutes the two exchanged hits and punches until Lily was thrown to the ground again. Tails stood before her as she got up and dusted herself off.   
  
"What do say, Lily? Ready to give up?" he said.  
  
"Not quite" Lily replied "Tee hee."  
  
Getting up, Lily got behind Tails and pinched him on his butt.  
  
All of the sudden he flushed bright red with embarrassment and ran of the stage.  
  
There was a long silence from the judges' booth as they didn't know what to say about this recent event.  
  
"And...the ..winner of round three...i...is Lily" they said finally.  
  
Lily jumped up and down excitedly.  
  
  
  
"Well. Looks like I'm up next" Sonic said stretching his arms above his head "Wish me luck."   
  
"Alright, Sonic," Crystal said "good luck up there!"  
  
Sonic stepped up from the crowd on to the arena as he everyone started cheering "Yea! Sonic! Sonic's back!" As they did in his dimension when he changed into Super Sonic to fight Perfect Chaos.  
  
His emerald green eyes shone with pride and confidence like a pair of Chaos Emeralds as he flashed his trademark grin. The crowd continued to cheer for the blue hedgehog as he waved back.  
  
"That's right." he said "I'm back, everyone!"   
  
"So, you're Sonic" Nike said "I've always wanted to test my skills against yours."  
  
"Oh, really." Sonic said cracking his knuckles "It's been awhile since I've had a good fight. I need the exercise."   
  
The drums sounded off the start of the fourth round as Sonic avoided a hit from Nike and came back with a spin-dash. Knocking the echidna flat on the ground.  
  
Nike jumped back up and reversed a sweeping kick, but got countered with a strong hit from behind.  
  
"Ya gotta be faster than that to get me!" Sonic said doing a mid air flip.  
  
The crowd cheered even more when he landed on one foot and started running at about two hundred miles an hour.  
  
In less than ten seconds, Sonic was running so fast that after images trailed behind him. Creating a streaking blue ring around the arena. Nike then broke the circle with a strong kick to the side. Knocking him to the ground.  
  
"Ha. I have a higher developed sense of smell than most echidnas" he said "All I had to do is pick up your scent."  
  
"Ha! I can win without doing that trick again anyways" Sonic said doing a figure-eight peel out.  
  
With a series of lightning fast hits, Sonic threw Nike to the other side of the arena.  
  
He caught himself with a back flip and came running towards the blue hedgehog.  
  
Upon impact he got run over with the figure eight.  
  
"That was my Super Figure Eight Peel-out" Sonic said "How do like it?"  
  
"I 'eight' it" Nike said " Argh! That does it! I'm going to use my sword!"  
  
"No prob' " he yawned "I don't really think it'll help though"  
  
From the Nike's back he pulled out his sword and ran towards Sonic."This boring routine again?" Sonic said "You could at least try something more original!"  
  
Each swipe of Nike's sword was skillfully avoided as Sonic jumped from foot to hand and back. The crowd got more excited as he did a mid air flip landing on the side of the blade.  
  
"I'm th fastest thing alive, echidna" he said "Your sword isn't enough to beat me."  
  
Jumping off the blade, Sonic did another flip and landed a double heeled kick to the back. Trenching him in to the ground.  
  
Before Nike could land a hit, Sonic ran to the side and landed another kick and knocked him out. The crowd went wild as the judges announced Sonic as the winner.  
  
Confetti was strewn about the place as wild and excited cheering roared from the crowd as Sonic stepped down to meet Crystal. They each exchanged high fives and various other friendly gestures. Crystal had missed seeing Sonic since his death. In fact, they were very close friends and would do anything for each other.  
  
"That was a great fight, Sonic!" she said "Way past cool."   
  
"Hey. It isn't often I find someone who talks the same way I do!" Sonic said surprised "Want to come with me to the snack bar?"  
  
"Sure," Crystal replied "We can talk over chili...."  
  
"Chili dogs?!" Sonic exclaimed "That sounds like a great idea!!!"  
  
The blue hedgehog's emerald green eyes lit up like two brilliantly shining Chaos Emeralds at the mention of his favorite food item. Before anything else could be said, he took off like a shot towards the snack bar.  
  
"Bleech! Chili dogs!" Mike and Knuckles said in the same corny voice "Eating too many, a side effect of hunger! We suggest eating a Snickers Bar! Peanuts, caramel and......" Suddenly they both look at each other with an astonished look on their faces and broke out into hysterical laughter.   
  
"We could always take the ingredients from the kitchen so they can't make any," suggested Mike.  
  
"Are you kidding me?" said Knuckles.   
  
"What's the matter, Knux?" before Mike could finish his words, Cream the Rabbit pops her head up over the hill and says "Are you chicken?"  
  
"What?! Knuckles afraid?!" Knuckles said "You wanna play a chili dog game with Sonic?! Fine! I'm team player! Lets play tricks!"  
  
He then marches into the kitchen with a proud look on his face.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily is chasing Tails and Tails is running for his life with a look of much embarrassment on his face. When he stops in the middle of his running and stares her in her eyes. "Listen, Lily I...." Tails begins to say when she looks deeper into his sapphire blue eyes as she says "You're cute when you're angry, Tails."  
  
"I.... I.... I" he then starts to feel himself flush bright red through his golden orange fur. Unable to speak for several minutes. Then the next minute, he grabbed her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Thus giving into this strange, new overwhelming, feeling that he's never felt before. As they sat there passionately   
  
kissing for what seems like hours until a familiar red echidna walks by.  
  
Knuckles and Mike side by side walk past them to achieve their chili dog mayhem, try not to say anything about the lovers. Though they can't hold in the joke that they come up with.   
  
"Can you feel the love tonight~~?" Mike broke out singing as Knuckles whistles the tune. "All the world in perrr-fect harmony in all its living things~~" the red echidna adds.  
  
Back in the kitchen, Crystal and Sonic arrive to find only one can of chili in the cupboard and a Snickers Bar on the counter. Sonic lifts it up to reveal a note that reads "Sorry, guys. There's nothing here. Try a Snickers Bar instead"  
  
"THAT DOES IT, MIKE! YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!!!" yelled Crystal.  
  
He then bravely taps her on the shoulder while holding the single can that had been accidently left behind.  
  
"Why get mad, Crystal," Sonic said "When we can get even!"  
  
A sly look then crept across the blue hedgehog's face as a slight glint shone in his emerald green eyes.  
  
"You're right, Sonic," she then said calmly "Why get upset over this when we can do something TWICE as sneaky. Right?" "Right!" Sonic replied "If they want to play games with our food. We'll play the same game with theirs!"  
  
After sharing a high five, they begin to make a mixture from the chili sauce, Snickers Bar and some left over cookie dough. Within minutes, the batch of what Sonic dubbed "Chili Snicker dough" was ready.  
  
Meanwhile several yards away, Mike and Knuckles are surprised by a familiar flash of blue streaking right in front of them.  
  
"Hi, guys!" Sonic said " 'Sup? Heard you've been playing games with my chili sauce!" Knuckles then begins to rub at the back of his neck nervously as he looks towards Mike thinking "I KNEW this was a bad idea!" "You aren't ...uh...mad are you, Sonic?" he said in a nervous tone. "Me? Mad"" Sonic said placing a hand on his tan chest "You know me better than that, Rad Red! By the way, ya gotta try this! It's outta this world!"  
  
Both look curiously at the mixture in the bowl and then at the blue hedgehog.  
  
"Go ahead, guys," he then urges " I've already had enough."  
  
Knuckles cautiously dips a finger into the mix and tastes it. For the moment he starts to like it.   
  
"Not bad. What do you call this?" he asked.  
  
A large grin almost covers Sonic's face as he answers "What else? Chili Snicker bar cookie dough!"  
  
The red echidna's face then turns completely green as he covers his mouths and runs for the nearest bathroom. Crystal then joins Sonic as he's laughing out loud. 


	6. Turnabout Heroes

Sonic Pandemonium   
  
  
  
Written by Crystal Crazyshot and Mike Wolfskin (a.k.a. Team Icon)  
  
  
  
Issue six - Turnabout Heroes  
  
  
  
By the outskirts of Robotropolis, all the Freedom Fighters have gathered to make their attack on the grossly polluted city. Every individual seemed prepared as they went through months of training. The only sad thing was that the System Outcast alliance was not able to come due to their own problems in their own nations.  
  
Amy begins walking around and screaming frantically "Has anyone seen Tails?!"  
  
Knuckles answers " Nope! Can't say that I have."  
  
"Nope. Me neither, but I feel a song coming on!" was Mike's reply.  
  
"Me too!" the read echidna adds "Care to join me partner?"  
  
The then begin to whistle that same theme song from before. Amy just stares at the two before saying "Where's Manic?"  
  
Mike and Knuckles then begin to whistle even louder.   
  
"You two are sure happy tonight" Sally said as she walks by.  
  
"I don't know maybe it's the mood of the night" answers both of them, bursting out into laughter.  
  
"Who could be happy about attacking Robotropolis at this time of night?" she thinks to herself.  
  
After the laughter starts to subside, Mike whispers into Knuckles' ear and says "By the way, was the package delivered?" Knuckles then stares at Mike and says "OH yes! Sign, sealed and delivered."  
  
"Where is everyone?!" Sally said "First Tails, then Lily and Manic. Now Amy's disappeared! And where is Sonic? He's late! It's not like him!"  
  
Again, Mike and Knuckles burst out laughing hysterically.  
  
"I think he went to his private 'hedgehog restroom'"said Knuckles.  
  
Meanwhile back in Knothole village, we found two Freedom Fighters far away from the planned out launched attack. We find Crystal pounding on the bathroom hut door.  
  
"Sonic, are you alright?" she asked "you've been in there for quite awhile! If you don't hurry up, we're gonna miss this mission's launch!"  
  
"I'll be out in a......." he said as a loud noise came out from the room. "Minute!"   
  
"I'm leaving," Crystal said "I'll see you there!"  
  
"DAMN MIKE! DAMN KNUCKLES!" Sonic yelled from the lavatory "YOU"LL PAY FOR THIS!!!"  
  
"Oh, Sonic. You should've known, you should've kept your guard up better." Crystal thought "but I gotta hand it those two. Super Ex Lax in a can of chili dogs in a can!"  
  
Meanwhile, Mike and Knuckles stopped laughing, but are still grinning from ear to ear. Mike then looks at Knuckles and says "Different dimension or not! You haven't changed a bit." They then walk off, talking about different things. The last thing that could be heard was Knuckles saying "I could just hear him now!"  
  
One could just barely hear Mike say "Don't you mean you could just 'smell' him now?" and lots of laughter.  
  
The groups all began to assemble as Tails walks up and Sally scolds him.   
  
"It's not like I'm a young kit anymore!" he then snaps back "Leave me alone! Who am I paired up with anyways?!"  
  
Amy then comes running up with a shrill cry of delight "There's my partner!"  
  
The orange fox then says in anger "Oh no you don't! I'm not baby sitting! I'll pair up with Lily!"  
  
"But uh....."Sally said speechlessly as Amy starts to cry like a seven year old.   
  
"Period! End of conversation!"finished Tails.  
  
He walks towards Knuckles and gets a pair of rings that have bound together with some kind of rubbery substance. He gets these because he doesn't want to be split up from Lily during the attack and a set of bows and arrows. Tails then goes back to meet with Lily.   
  
Suddenly, Sonic appears right as Sally was about slap Tails for his outburst.  
  
The blue hedgehog gets the hand across his face instead.   
  
"Sally!" Sonic said astonished "What on Mobius was that for?! No.... um......oh no! Not here!" He then begins to moan as he grips at his stomach. Suddenly, a big loud fart comes from him. From atop one of higher trees, Knuckles says "Hey, Mike!" Mike said from another tree not so far away "Yeah?!"  
  
"You smell that?!" the red echidna called back. "Yeah? What about it?!" Mike called back.  
  
"Smells to me like the sweet smell of victory!!" said Knuckles in a loud thunderous voice.  
  
"WAY PAST COOL!" Mike said in the same tone and voice.  
  
Amy then comes running up to Sonic. "My........." she begins to say "ew! You're smelly!"  
  
The setting sun then signals the start of the attack on Robotropolis as everyone marches on to the city. In a nearby pine, a white fruit bat lights and hangs upside as she watches. "Hm." Rouge thought "Wonder what everyone is so serious about?  
  
It's like walking into a funeral or something."  
  
With a bored sigh, she then flies on the next updraft as she follows the largely assorted group of Freedom Fighters. "Doesn't matter!" the bat said decisively "I'm just going to go see what this city has to offer this treasure hunter."  
  
Soon, the attack on the city was underway as the pairs of Freedom Fighters slit up for their individual jobs.  
  
Crystal was polishing the brass knuckles on her hands until they shone as she looked at the sentry Swatbots changing their shifts.  
  
"Bunnie, what's the status on that supply depot?" she asked looking towards the cyborg rabbit.  
  
"The third shift hasn't arrived yet, Sugah-Crystal" replied Bunnie Rabbot.  
  
"So the plan is that we attack it when the third shift changes and destroy the supplies kept in that storage area?" Crystal double checked.  
  
"Yep. That's the plan, sugah!" she replied "I do declare! Y'all shore have good memory!"  
  
"Yeah. Too good of a memory at times," Crystal trailed off as she recalled a similar mission like this. It wasn't as big, but she and Sonic were paired up.   
  
They were both trapped and then the explosions. At that point the flash back ended.  
  
"Ah.Y'all still sad about that mission, Crystal?" Bunnie asked sympathetically "That was three months ago and Sonic is still here."   
  
"It's just that I feel that there was something I could've done to save his life is all," she said "Something that could've gotten both of us out alive."  
  
With her Mobian arm, she then dried the tears away from Crystal's eyes.  
  
"We all felt then both of us out alive."  
  
With her Mobian arm, she then dried the tears away from Crystal's eyes.  
  
"We all felt that way at some point in time, hon'" Bunnie said "Like you, it just take longer to get over it."  
  
At that time, their watches that had been synchronized at the start of the mission beeped the signal that the third shift of Swatbots had begun to take guard at the depot.  
  
"Show time!" Crystal said in the exact same manner that Sonic does. "Lets juice them and reduce them!" they both said at the same time as they exchanged the Freedom Fighter handshake.  
  
Bunnie did a flying leap into the first set of Swatbots as Crystal tore through the other half with her armored fists. It was just like old times again.  
  
With a placed punch with her robotic arm, she opened it enough for her and her partner to get through.  
  
Inside a conveyor belt carried boxes of what appeared to be microchips.  
  
"I always thought that Robotnik was behind Dell!" Crystal said jokingly "Now here's proof!"  
  
Search lights covered ninety degree radiuses every twelve seconds, exact timing was required to pass them without detection.  
  
Crystal ran in between and around the gaps that these lights missed with little effort. Often silencing the techbots with a slender sword she took from the sheath at her side. After placing it back, she went up to the catwalk where the light were being operated by Swatbots. Then one by one the searchlights went out as if the bulbs were broken in flashes of light that ended in total darkness.  
  
"Y'all sure made short work of those lights, Crystal," Bunnie said surprised "Where on Mobius did ya learn timing like that?!"  
  
"A certain hedgehog taught me for about a year or two!" Crystal said "C'mon. Before the bot brigade decides to check out what happened to their buddies!"  
  
Meanwhile, Tails and Lily were working on disabling a set of lasers that spread across a door way.  
  
"Can't you work any faster?!" said Lily. "Give me a break!" Tails said in a rushed voice "I'm doing this as fast I can!"  
  
The small panel on the grid flashed several random numbers and letters as Tails hacked into the security system. One row had already stopped as he started work on the next one.  
  
"Maybe this will help it go faster," Lily said as she kissed him directly on the lips.  
  
Unsure what brought about this sudden action, Tails stared at her for several minutes.  
  
"C'mon." the blue fox said "we'll hold everyone back if it isn't finished on time."  
  
"Just about there!" he said "There!"  
  
A series of beeps, the lasers faded until the path was clear. "Sonic!" Tails said into his communicator "The laser trap has been disable! It's clear!"  
  
"Cool! Great job, T-2!" Sonic's voice said on the radio "Proceed to the next area!"  
  
Just then laser fire begins to fly in their direction as they lead the Swatbots away from the area. During the chase, Lily falls and sprains her ankle. She is about to be captured when Tails shoots an arrow through the Swatbot. It explodes as he has her lean on his shoulder for support.  
  
They just barely avoid the shots when someone pulls them around the corner.  
  
"Real smooth move, fox-boy!" a voice chews him out tartly "You almost blew my cover!" Standing in front of the two, was Rouge with a hand full of precious gemstones the size of Chaos Emeralds while she stuffed the remainder of her heist into a duffle bag. That had conveniently been found laying around in a certain other treasure hunter's living quarters.  
  
"Hey!" Tails said "Doesn't that belong to Knuckles?!"  
  
Giving the two foxes a false look that lead them to believe that she was thinking really hard. "I'm just borrowing it." she said "so don't tell him. I'll give it back when I'm finished with it."  
  
"Shameless treasure hunter!" Tails said under his breath.   
  
As Rouge flew off, Lily and Tails ran to their next target.  
  
In a darkened section of Robotropolis, Sonic and Sally went through a hidden passage way that lead to a secret underground passage. Coming out by a large machine being tended to by tech bots and worker bots.  
  
"This definitely reminds me of heading through the Death Egg zone in my dimension," Sonic thought "Even then he used those he turned into robots to do his dirty work."  
  
"We're almost to the targeted area, Sonic," Sally said quietly as to not alarm the robots working in the immediate area "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's nothing, Sal'" the blue hedgehog replied "It's just that this kinda reminds me a lot of what the Robotnik in my dimension is doin'! It just angers me to see what he's doin' here!"  
  
A low but deep growl then issued from his throat as he clenched a fist tight enough to turn white.  
  
"C'mon!" he said "Let's do it to it!" "Take this disc and slip it into that computer system over there." Sally said as she handed Sonic the computer disc "The laser overlapping each other will burn anything that they come in contact with. Think you can do it?"  
  
Pride shone in his bright, emerald green eyes as he walked up to the security system. "Those lasers?" Sonic said with a thumb pointed over his back and towards the computer behind him "I can handle those lasers! No prob'!"  
  
In series of vertical, horizontal and diagonal Spin Dashes, he made it past the lasers guarding the computer without even getting singed.   
  
"Yeah!" he said "And the crowd goes wild!"  
  
Seconds after the disc inserted into the computer, the lasers faded and the systems began spark electricity from every corner and crevice. Sonic blocked his eyes from the brightness and potential harm of the explosions with his arms as he backed away from the flames.  
  
Meanwhile a certain needle nosed individual walks towards the main hall.  
  
"Sir! SIR!!" in a strange yet fearful voice.   
  
"What IS IT, Snively?!" Robotnik growled "Don't tell me that the Doomsday machine is in need of more oil!!!!!" "Yes sir....no sir......." Snively said "You'll never believe this sir!! Um....uh uhm..." he then picks up a remote and activates the monitors one by one, one of many monitors flash on with a very familiar blue   
  
on the screen. Robotnik is still staring at Snively and still has no idea of the attack on his city nor the fact that his arch nemesis is alive.  
  
"This had better be good, Snively!" Robotnik said "You're interrupting my Sierra Mist hour!" He then begins to sip from the can of the horrid drink .Then what would a tastebud less fool would call a lemon lime drink slowly goes down his throat. The foul bio begins to fill the room with its chokingly unpleasant smell.  
  
Snively then contemplate the words he could say as a joke comes to mind, but he stutters. He dares not say those words. For if he did he would lose the last strand of hair on his balding head. Two small figures appear above him, both resemble a smaller version of himself representing the good and dark sides.  
  
The dark side looks like him, but it has tail that points upward like a spade as it is holding a pitch fork. While the other is in a white kilt with a halo over its head.  
  
"What did you do?!" the dark side said to the light "Get a sex change?!" "Haven't you heard of kilt before?!"said the light side.  
  
"Dang Gays and lesbians" the dark said "Power to Bush! I hope to Hades that the amendment passes! If an other gay stares at me I'll...... I'll........."  
  
"Didn't we come here for a purpose?" the light said.   
  
"AH yes! Snively, say it SAY IT!" the dark said "Show that over bloated bastard who's boss!"  
  
The light side then floats lightly on to Snively and twirls the last remaining strand of hair. "If you want to keep your hair, I wouldn't"she said.   
  
Snively then begins to think that he's hallucinating as he realizes that he might be because of the rancid, mold like stench coming from the Sierra Mist.   
  
Then from out of nowhere, Robotnik spews Sierra Mist everywhere including on his lackey. The tyrant then realizes that his city is under attack, but more importantly - he's still alive. The one he had thought to be dead three months ago, Sonic the Hedgehog was alive!  
  
"YES! It's kind of like THAT!" Snively said as the dark side grinned from ear to ear and the light burst out in hysterical laughter. They both then disappear in a poof of light.  
  
In a maddened rage, Robotnik starts to push every button he could find on every console in the room to deal with this new yet old threat.  
  
Inside the ventilation pipes, Mike and Knuckles make through this area for their part of the mission.   
  
Unfortunately, this would be quite difficult due to the fact they would have to turn off the power generator at the right moment and time. They couldn't be a moment too soon nor too late or others would get hurt. Not to mention the fact that it would be an extremely difficult task to accomplish for the renewed treasure hunters. Knuckles comes down from the hole in the grating and steps onto a loose plate on the floor that triggered a pressure sensitive trap. As Mike comes behind him, he notices flames start to fire up on either side of the walls.  
  
"Oooh NO" the red echidna exclaims "MIKE! Behind you!!!"  
  
He looks back to see this and they both make a run for it as the flame throwers shoot out fire hot enough to melt metal.  
  
"RUN NOW!" Knuckles yelled as they dodge the fire traps "Or we'll be burned alive!!!"  
  
As they run, wall mounted weapons start shooting bullets at them. He then glides to each one as he destroys them with his powerful fists. "I got you covered!" he shouted over the noise "Keep going!"  
  
"Right!" Mike said running as he kept up with him.  
  
The traps then start to get tougher as stone pillars start to fall along side the narrow hall way. Running as fast as they could, they ran past these as the threatened to crush the two intruders.  
  
"Is that it?" asked Knuckles. An ominous square shaped shadow then starts to hang over them. Without warning, they find themselves holding up a stone ceiling that is only a yard or so away from the generator.  
  
"I can disable the power generator from here, Knux!" said Mike. "With what?!" he exclaimed "you're holding up this big slab of stone too!"  
  
Though it was hard to see from Knuckles' view point, Mike activated a laser on the I.R. and blasted the generator with a laser blast. Then the lights started to dim out and the ceiling stopped enough for the red echidna to push it up and join him.  
  
The next minute, it then continued to lower on inertia rather than the power used to power it. They both flew out of the hall and barely made it as the whole room went totally dark.  
  
Looking back Knuckles could almost see the ceiling crumble into pieces as if something had hit with a lot of force.  
  
As the dust settled something tackled him to ground. In the dark two digital blue eyes flashed as this was the only light in the room.  
  
"By orders of master Dr. Ivo Robotnik," the robot said "You shall be destroyed!!!"  
  
"Sorry, pal!" Knuckles said as he punched his attacker "but I don't play that game!" In the dim light of the robot's eyes an echidna-like figure could be seen that was a shiny metallic red in color and looked like Knuckles. It's claws were two sharp spikes on either hand and its dread locks were made of cords that are encased in a light metal. The visor was a bright neon blue as it flared at its targets.   
  
"Targets acquired." it said "Priority one- Freedom Fighters"  
  
/TARGET ONE/ = Mike Wolfskin   
  
Status/ previously inactive for duration of three years  
  
System Outcast Freedom Fighter  
  
/TARGET TWO/= Knuckles the Echidna  
  
Status/ presumed dead =ignore in favor of new information.  
  
PROTOCOL ......./ ACTIVATE ATTACK MODE  
  
ATTACK MODE ACTIVATED  
  
  
  
external audio target one "looks like Robotnik's been busy."  
  
target two "sure looks that way. Lets take out this look alike!"  
  
  
  
Both Knuckles and Mike dodged out of the way of Mecha Knuckles' laser blasts that it continually strafed them with. Knuckles then came up from behind and slammed his fists into its back. The robot was disoriented as it received an elbow to its mid section. In the next second it retaliated by swiping its razor-like claws at the red echidna. These narrowly missed as the last one cut his shoulder.  
  
"This thing almost as tough as that Mecha Sonic robot that Eggman sent after us on the space colony," Knuckles thought "no wonder Sonic had such a hard time fighting it!"   
  
He then punched Mecha Knuckles as it was sent against a wall with a loud CLANG!! Several sparks of electricity flickered over it.   
  
"HAHAHAHAHA!" it laughed "You fools have no idea just what you're dealing with here!"  
  
Mecha Knuckles got up as if it weren't damaged at all and began to glow a bright green.  
  
"Don't tell this thing has a piece of the negative Chaos Emerald too!" exclaimed Mike.  
  
"No it's not a Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles said "Its power feels similar. That's it!"   
  
Pointing to Mecha Knuckles, he then said "It's the Master Emerald of this dimension's Angel Island. Sonic and I fought Metal Sonic when it tried to take it and power itself up in the same way!"  
  
"That's right, Freedom Fighters!" Mecha Knuckles said "with the power of the Floating Island's Master Emerald. I will crush you like insects!!"  
  
"Oh YEAH?!" Knuckles and Mike said at the same time "You're the fool for not realizing who YOU"RE dealing!!"  
  
The robot then found itself on the receiving end of several attacks from both treasure hunters. This it guarded against quiet well, until Mike punched it in its visor.  
  
/VISUAL STATUS LOST/  
  
switch to infra red/  
  
"You'll be seein' red alright!"Knuckles said "When we're finished with you!!"  
  
In a flurry of fisticuffs, he hit Mecha Knuckles with everything he had. Then the Master Emerald which was supplying its power fell out from one of the stronger hits.   
  
"Who's gonna crush who like an insect?!" Mike said "Let's finish off this sorry excuse for a robot, Knuckles."  
  
Knuckles' eyes then shone brilliantly as he replied"RIGHT!"  
  
In the darkness of the control room only lit by the light of Mobius' twin moons, emerald green eyes shone iridescently as they reflected off of this light.   
  
Dodging laser fire, strafed at him, Sonic Spin Dashed the laser blaster out of Robotnik's hand and landed hand and knee as he skidded back several feet.  
  
He then came at his arch enemy at full speed as his legs became blurry spinning wheels. The tyrant caught him off guard and threw him into a consol that ran on an independent power source and was electrocuted as the raw voltage coursed through him. With a Spin Dash, Sonic freed himself and punched Robotnik hard enough to bounce him back across the room and in to the next area. He didn't let up and continued the onslaught. In the dim light of the moons, his eyes made him look like some kind of phantom. This unnerve Robotnik as he saw him approaching. The familiar figure of his enemy, whom he thought had finally died not too long ago.   
  
"What's the matter?!" Sonic said sarcastically "You look like you've seen a ghost!"  
  
Without a reply, he was then shot in the right shoulder with a concealed weapon on Robotnik's robotic arm. He hollered from the pain and surprise of the sneak attack. Renewing his own, he then did a spiral uppercut powered by the Super Figure Eight Peel out.  
  
His breathing had now become slower and labored as a fraction of his energy went towards his hurt shoulder.   
  
Beads of sweat formed at Sonic's forehead and ran down the side of this face. He was about to deliver the finishing blow when all the lights started to come back on.  
  
He was nearly blinded as his eyes had to adjust to the sudden brightness.  
  
"Well, hedgehog!" Robotnik sneered "Looks like you forgot about the back up generator!"  
  
Still getting used the light around him, he found himself held against a wall by two Swatbots. "Hey!!" the blue hedgehog exclaimed "What kind of trick is this?!!" "The best kind!" answered Robotnik as he ordered the Swatbots to take Sonic to the Roboticizer. Only inches away from the dreaded machine, when a large explosion blew up almost the entire room.  
  
"Hey, Knux!" Sonic said "Great timing!" "Need some help, Sonic?" Knuckles asked "You looked a little banged up."  
  
"More like 'a lot'" he replied "now that you mention it, could you get these walking tin cans offa me?!"  
  
Knuckles then took the Swatbots apart like they were toys.  
  
"Thanks, Knux..." Sonic said as he held a hand to the laser shot.  
  
"Hey you alright?" th red echidna asked concerned "It looks really bad."  
  
He just sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth as he looked towards his companion with faint emerald eyes.  
  
"I'll manage," Sonic said "It's probably not as bad as it looks ...or feels."  
  
At that moment they were joined by everyone else except for Shadow and Nike who had somehow gotten to the wrong side of Robotropolis.  
  
"Well, this looks like a fine mess" Shadow thought "How did we get lost? This place isn't like Station Square."  
  
"Some 'Ultimate Life form!'" said Nike. Shadow's ruby red eyes shifted towards the black and yellow echidna that had spoken. " I could've gotten this done by myself, echidna," he said "but I agreed to LET you be paired up with me for this mission!"  
  
The black and red hedgehog then regarded his reluctant traveling companion with fiery red eyes and walked away several paces. He then stood silently for about two or so minutes before shouting "CHAOS CONTROL!"  
  
In seconds they appeared in the same room that Sonic and the others were in earlier. At that time, large reddish purple clouds started to fill the surrounding area.  
  
"Fall back everyone," Sally called to the whole group "Return to Knothole!"   
  
Later that night, Crystal visited Sonic by the Power Ring grotto as he stared towards the clear water reflecting the moonlight.  
  
"How's your arm, Sonic?" she asked as she sat beside him.  
  
Sonic's emerald green eyes fell upon his shoulder which was bandaged and held in a sling. "Okay I guess," he sighed "It's healin' and doesn't hurt as much as it did at first." He then placed his good arm behind his back.  
  
"What is it like where you come from,"Crystal inquired "I mean in your dimension"  
  
Again, the blue hedgehog sighed deeply as if he had a lot on his mind.  
  
"It's not that much different from here, I guess" he answered "Mobius still has the same twin moons or at least it did before Eggman blew one of them up."  
  
For awhile, they talked about stuff that had been on each others' minds until they both fell asleep against the tall oak tree.  
  
The wind blew several leaves across the lake as scene shifts to another pair of Freedom Fighters inside a certain treasure hunter's hut.   
  
"What happened to the Floating Island in this dimension anyways?!" Knuckles asked "If this Master Emerald was in Robotnik's possession then that must mean that he destroyed it somehow!"   
  
Holding the Master Emerald he found in his large, gloved hand, he looked at it with curiosity and confusion. If the Knuckles of this dimension failed to protect the bright green gem then something must've happened to Angel Island.  
  
"It's a long story, Knuckles," Mike said "that is if you want to hear it."  
  
"Don't worry I have all night," the red echidna replied as he laid back on the bed with one hand behind his back "There's no hurry."  
  
Then something came to mind of the treasure hunter, he then reached over to his duffle bag as he found it empty. Reaching into it almost frantically, he looked for HIS Master Emerald. The whole bag was empty with the exception a letter written in very fine cursive letters with his name on it.  
  
  
  
Dear Knuckles,  
  
I sort of used your bag for swiping jewels from that city you guys were attacking.  
  
Oh just let me get to the point! You still had some treasures in there and I couldn't discern them from my own. So..... I just took them all. Sorry.  
  
  
  
See you later guardian, Rouge ^_^ 3  
  
  
  
Through out Knothole, everyone could hear Knuckles cry- screaming "NOOOOOOOO! MYYYYYYY PREEEEECCCCCCCIOUSSSS!" 


End file.
